John and the Dragon Rider
by Silent Archangel
Summary: A sequel to Halo 3, with a slight twist. Arbiter and the Chief is transported into the world of Eragon. Now they must try to survive long enough to brag about their guns, and blow up some of the Empire's pathetic cannon fodder. Non-canon/bordering crack.
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

New story: John and the Dragon Rider

_Okay, first of all, Arbiter, Master Chief, and Cortana are on half of the Forward Unto Dawn, but, there is a slight malfunction in the slipspace drive that teleports them into the world of Eragon. And then they start to kick some Empire ass! _

_So, here's the deal, this fic will have almost nothing but blood, kicking ass, more kicking ass, and badassness. Everybody loves badassness. So, if you came for action, adventure, blood, and scenes too gory to be put into a picture, DON'T CLICK AWAY!_


	2. Fall of the Dawn

Author's Note: I do not own Halo or Eragon, I just enjoy writing. And also, this takes place after Brisingr so, yeah, enjoy.

The last thing John saw before going into cryo was Cortana's hologram and the Arbiter standing beside her. He sighed and closed his eyes, "It's finally over." Arbiter turned away and walked to the armory of the Dawn. He was _free,_ a concept he never knew when he joined the Covenant. He was free of his shame. He was free from his conflicts. He ripped off his armor; it was the last thing that bound him to his past. As the last piece of armor clattered to the ground, Arbiter could feel the weight of the past being lifted from his shoulders. He looked into a mirror, and he saw a new elite, different, changed, _free. _He smiled in contentment and quickly changed into a simple outfit consisted of a shirt and pants made for elites.

A rumble shook the entire ship; the arbiter ran to the Dawn's bridge and faced the holopedestal.

"What's happening?"

Cortana's hologram flashed into existence. "I don't know, there may be something wrong with the Dawn's slipspace drive, we're going to make a blind jump!"

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Hold on to something! Secure yourself in the emergency safety pods!"

Arbiter sat awkwardly in the seat, buckled his seat belt and held on tight to the handlebars.

"Slipspace jump in 5…4…3…2…1…" and everything went black.

John could feel himself being awaken from cryonic sleep, but when he opened his eyes, it was a different scene. The Dawn was in shambles; wires were hanging from the walls and ceilings, and his cryo pod glass was cracked. He retrieved Cortana's data chip and inserted it into his helmet. He felt Cortana's presence enter his mind.

"What happened?"

"It must've been an unstable engine reactor that triggered that blind slipspace jump."

"Where's the Arbiter?"

"He's in one of the bridge's emergency safety pods."

The Master Chief rushed to the bridge, to see Arbiter, not in his armor, stumbling out of a safety pod.

"Arbiter, are you alright?"

"I have not sustained any damage."

"Cortana, where are we?"

"My calculations report that we are near a planet that can sustain life, we have lost both thrusters, and we are in the planet's gravitational pull."

"Arbiter, do you mind suiting up? We might have to clear the area of any natives or Insurrectionists."

Arbiter nodded and took a walk to what's left of the Dawn's armory. He was waiting for this moment, the moment when he was to be called to battle yet again, but he never imagined it would be this soon. He stood before something draped with a sheet of fabric. He removed the sheet to uncover a full set of golden elite armor, his armor. He donned the shiny new suit, he was no longer Thel 'Vadam the Arbiter, he was Thel 'Vadam the Supreme Commander, and he liked it. Cortana spoke through the loudspeakers.

"We're coming in hot, brace for impact."

00000

Eragon was soaring high above the world on Saphira. Today, something was wrong; the sky was black and red instead of the usual blue. He predicts this was the work of Galbatorix. Then suddenly a blinding flash of light and scorching heat hotter than the Hadarac Desert exploded all around him. Through all of this he caught a glimpse of a ball of flaming inferno streaking towards the earth.

"_Hold on tight Eragon!" _Saphira cried.

Eragon gripped the saddle and held on for dear life as they both hurtled through the air.

00000

The Master Chief and the Arbiter stepped onto the soft earth ground.

"I do not recognize this colony, or its surrounding orbital star formations." Cortana reported, "But I did pick up activity on the surface, be careful."

"Isn't that why I brought this?" John hefted a rocket launcher.

Cortana rolled her eyes "Men and their toys…"

Then, several small red dots appeared on her long range radar.

"John, I'm picking something up on radar, it's coming towards us."

John and Thel readied their weapons, expecting brutes and grunts to come into view, but instead, a group of horsemen with pikes and swords approached them. The leader approached them and said jauntily, "You will bow down to King Galbatorix, or suffer his infinite wrath!"

Arbiter immediately said without thinking, "We will bow down to no king! We are free to do what we wish."

The soldiers narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Then die a slow, painful death."

Just as the group was about to charge, John fired his rocket launcher and it resulted in an explosion of blood, guts and dismembered body parts. John caught the head of a soldier and slowly crushed it in his powerful hands, blood and brain fluids dripping down into the soil. The explosion of blood stained the Chief's armor a menacing red; it even frightened Thel to see the Chief in this manner.

After another hour of walking, the two were approached by another group of horsemen, but this time, they were carrying a different banner.

"Let me handle this." Thel said to the Chief.

"You handled the last one so great too." John mumbled.

Again, the leader of the group stepped forward, for some reason, he was carrying a hammer.

"My name is Roran Stronghammer, state your business."

"We seek refuge from the king, we can help you fight." Thel replied.

Roran pondered this for a moment, then said, "Follow me to our camp, we will discuss your terms there, and tell your friend to come too." John rose to his full height and stared down at Roran. Roran was unnerved by the huge giant that stood before him.

Roran ordered two of his men to dismount their horses and give them to Thel and John.

"These things can't carry us." John said.

Roran looked confused. "Of course you can. Just sit atop that saddle and…"

"My friend means, our armor is very heavy, about five times heavier than yours." Thel interrupted. "We will go on foot."

John nodded.

"By the way, welcome to the Varden army." Roran said.

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_Well, not a bad start, I think… I promise you, there will be more blood and gore in the next chapter._


	3. Base Camp

_Author's Note: Okay, sorry about my irregular update schedule, I have been very, VERY busy. Well, there you go, enjoy._

_00000_

John was expecting to see a full military base complete with gymnasium, cafeteria, armory, and concrete bunkers. But, all he could see were tents, a lot of tents. 'When they say base camp, I wasn't looking to see a sea of tents, and it's hardly defendable in that position.'

Roran interrupted John's thoughts, "Welcome to the Varden's base of operations. I'm sure Nasuada would like to see you."

"Who is Nasuada?" Arbiter asked. Roran looked puzzled, "Nasuada is the leader of the Varden army, and she is widely known for her participation in the battle of the Burning Plains."

00000

Nasuada sat in her baking tent, expecting two "strange" visitors. She had received a messenger from Roran's squad informing her of two new additions to the army, two strange additions. 'As long as they can fight,' Nasuada thought, 'we are going to need all the help we can get in order to win this war.' Her tent flap opened and Roran entered, followed by two hulking figures who looked like they could snap her neck with little to no effort, one wearing green armor and the other wearing golden armor. "Kneel before Nasuada, the leader of the Varden army." One of the guards said. John and Thel glanced at each other and did as they were told. Nasuada spoke with a commanding tone with a hint of tiredness. "Who are you and where do you come from?" Thel stood up first, "I am Thel 'Vadam, supreme commander of the Covenant Separatists." Then John got to his feet, "I'm Master Chief petty officer John 117 of the UNSC army."

Nasuada whispered something to one of her guards, he nodded. The guard walked towards them, "I will escort you to your tents." As the group walked out, Eragon entered and for a moment, John's and Eragon's eyes met. Eragon was unsettled by the fact that he couldn't see his face. He walked towards Nasuada, "I don't trust those two, they give me a very bad feeling."

"Eragon, you know we are losing, we are going to need all the help we can get." Said Nasuada, exasperated. "Well, allow me to examine their minds, to put the men at ease." Nasuada sighed, "Fine, do what you have to do."

Eragon walked to the green armored soldier's tent first. Just as he was about to enter, John emerged in full battle armor, towering over Eragon. "Nasuada has given me permission to examine your mind for any sign that you may be one of the Empire's spies." John continued to stare down at him, then nodded. Before Eragon started John spoke, "Just a fair warning, you may not like what you see." As Eragon slipped into his mind he saw horrible memories, the kidnapping, the torturous training, the horrible battles he witnessed, the pain, the excruciating pain. Eragon searched for a way out but he could not he was lost in the terrible nightmare, he was assaulted by a torrent of memories of dying people, and more pain, so much pain…

Eragon woke in the green armored soldier's tent with a throbbing headache. Saphira poked her head in the tent. '_Are you alright Eragon? What happened? If somebody hurt you, I will rip them to pieces!' _"I'm alright Saphira; I just looked too deep into somebody's mind." Saphira looked troubled, '_All those disturbing memories, was that him?' _"Yes." Saphira looked even more troubled, '_We must watch this one, his mind is very… alien.' _"I still have one more to examine, he _is_ an alien." '_I will accompany you this time, whenever I turn my back; you're always getting yourself into trouble.' _She said with a growl.

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Thel could feel the stares of other men in the cafeteria. He was nibbling on an apple quietly, when a human approached him with a great beast with shining sapphire scales and wings following. Thel jumped to his feet with his hand on his energy sword handle. "Nasuada has given permission to examine your mind to tell if you wish us any ill will." "I think I'd like to keep my mind's privacy." Thel spat. "Then I will just have to examine you by force." As if cued, the dragon leapt forth and pinned Thel to the ground. Saphira yelped as she felt somebody pull her tail with immense force. Saphira turned to confront the attacker. John jumped and landed on Saphira's neck, holding her head down with the weight of him and his armor. Thel jumped to his feet and activated his energy sword. Eragon murmured something in the Ancient Language and then John and Thel both froze. Saphira squirmed and rolled but she could not lift her head with the massive weight on her neck. Eragon whispered another spell, and John slumped and fell off Saphira's neck with a loud thud.

Saphira reared her head and prepared to burn her attacker to a crisp. "Wait," came Nasuada's voice. "Eragon, what is the meaning of this?" "Nasuada, this one refuses to let his mind be examined." Thel eyed Eragon hatefully. "Well, you can now, can't you?"

"Yes."

"Then get it done." Then, she left.

John rose, "Why did you attack my friend?" "His mind was to be examined, he refused." "So, let him be." "It is necessary…" John cut him off, "Well, you "examined" my mind, so there is no need to examine his." Eragon sighed and whispered another spell. Thel could move again. He deactivated his energy sword and stormed towards the crash site, and John walked towards the sparring arena.

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The man in charge of the sparring arena arranged who fought who. And John was to fight a big man named Thor, wielding a huge sword and shield. John didn't need any weapons; he had his personal shielding and brute strength with him. "Prepared to be humiliated by the might of Thor!" the man taunted. John remained quiet as they circled each other, waiting for each other to attack. John's silence made Thor nervous. Suddenly and without warning, John rushed with blinding speed and struck the man square in the chest, making a huge dent in his chest plate and sent him flying across and out of the arena. Everybody stopped to gaze upon John in awe and fear. The man in charge of the arena placed John against four people, seeing that one is no match for him. The group chanted various taunts and insults meaning to infuriate John, but he kept his cool. One of the attackers lunged at him, but with lightning speed, John caught the oncoming sword in his hand and sent the attacker flying back with a push. Then, all three attackers rushed him, but John didn't even flinch as his personal shield deflected two blows while John caught another sword in his hands, the man fell back. John crushed the sword in his hands and flung the unbroken tip at the man, striking the ground uncomfortably close to the fallen man's testicles. After seeing this, the other two men threw down their swords and ran away. John was disappointed; he was expecting more of a challenge.

A strange woman with pointed ears approached John and got into a fighting stance. For some reason, John felt a tingling sensation as he looked upon the beautiful woman before him. He shook his head and also crouched in a fighting stance. The elf lunged forward with inhuman speed, but John caught her arm and attempted to twist her arm into a lock. The elf squirmed with great flexibility, wriggled out from John's hold and ducked behind him and kicked him in the back. John rolled and got to his feet. He had to figure out how to immobilize his opponent without injuring or causing excessive pain.

Arya thought, 'This is no ordinary man, nobody can move that fast.' Arya ran at John and kicked him square in the chest. But he didn't budge an inch. For once in a long time, Arya felt scared. Arya leapt out of John's reach, and they circled each other once again. This time, John rushed forward with a punch, Arya managed to block the incoming blow. But then John grabbed her neck with his other hand and applied pressure to a specific area and Arya slumped, unconscious. John had not noticed the crowd that gathered around them to see the fight.

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Arya opened her eyes. She was in the infirmary. 'I wonder how I got here.' She thought to herself. Then she saw the green armored giant and she remembered the sparring arena. John, seeing that she was awake, approached her. "Hello, I am John 117," he said in his deep, gravelly voice. "I'm Arya," she replied. A messenger approached them, "Nasuada has asked you both to come and report to her office."

00000

Thel walked through the remains of the Forward Unto Dawn. He picked up a Covenant plasma rifle and attached it to his magnetic plates. He also picked up his holopad then proceeded back to the camp. In the distance, an Empire archer strung his bow, loaded an arrow, took aim, and let go of the string.

Thel could hear a buzzing sound, but could not locate the source. He suddenly saw an incoming arrow. He caught it midair and threw it back at the archer. The arrow pierced his eye and blood sprayed out of the wound and soaked into the soil. The troops behind the archer lost all their morale and fled, leaving behind the archer with a bloody arrow through his head.

As Thel entered the camp, a boy walked towards him and told him, "Lady Nasuada wants you to report to her office immediately." Thel took some time to find Nasuada's tent. He saw John and a woman standing together. "About time, you took some time getting here." Nasuada said impatiently, "Now that we're all here, the discussion can begin. Today, we will put your abilities to the test. Arya will accompany you to take down an Empire supply caravan. It will be heavily guarded, so if you need any help, tell me, and I will send for Eragon. John reached into one of his armor pouches and pulled out two small devices. "Take this and put it into your ear." He said to Nasuada and Arya. They both did so reluctantly. This is how we will be able to remain constant communication." The group headed towards the trade route. They saw dozens of black armored soldiers guarding the carts and wagons.

"It's go time," John said with a smile.


	4. War & Love

_Author's Note: Oh, yes, I know what you're thinking. The b4d4s5 Master Chief has fallen for Arya, Eragon's girl. Maybe there will be some interactions between John and her. (Wink, wink)This chapter will have blood, and lots of it._

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"It's go time." John said with a smile.

"Be careful, there are too many for you to handle." Arya cautioned.

"Isn't that why there are three of us?" Thel joined in.

John got to his feet and pulled two SMGs from his magnetic hip armor and rushed towards the small army with a fearsome battle cry and guns blazing. Hidden underneath the bushes where the trio was hiding, Thel shrugged and activated his energy sword and also charged the enemy. Then, Arya also joined the fight. The soldiers were no match for the combined might of the three. Master Chief ripped somebody's arm from his body and proceeded to beat him to death with it, then punched _through _another soldier's chest and ripped out his heart with his bare hands. On Thel's end, he decapitated a soldier and then sliced another in half from head to scrotum, blood spraying in all directions. Soon, a nice pile of cold, lifeless corpses and dismembered body parts began to stack up around them, forming a puddle of dark red blood. John paused to check on his team, but he saw Arya, blades gracefully dancing around her, and the blood and fluid spraying all around her made her look damn hot for some reason.

John didn't notice a soldier sneaking up on him from behind. But Thel threw his energy sword and it cut open his belly, he was still alive when he tried to keep all of his inner intestines from spilling out. Arya, being the merciful one, slit his throat with one quick, fluid motion of her blade. Then, the three watched him drown in a puddle of his own blood.

Somebody managed to call for reinforcements, the trio watched as additional troops charged towards them. John smiled as the massacre was about to begin again. Suddenly, John caught a glimpse of something shiny dart across the sky. He looked up, and a huge, red dragon appeared out of nowhere. John could see that the dragon was about to unleash hell from its jaws just like Saphira had. He knew that Thel's and his personal shields would protect them, but Arya was completely exposed. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Thel saw the fiery inferno burst from its jaws; Arya didn't see the dragon in time enough for her to whisper a spell of protection; John wrapped around Arya in a tight embrace with his back to the dragon. Intense, scorching heat washed all over John's back. He could see his personal shields drop down to twenty percent on his HUD. Once it was over, John collapsed, his armor smoking. Arya saw Murtagh riding high atop the scarlet dragon and snarled, "It's you." Thel detached his plasma rifle from his magnetic armor and began to rain a volley of plasma bolts not at the dragon, but at the rider. Murtagh's protective wards did nothing to stop the sizzling plasma. He and his dragon both cried out in shared pain as the plasma burned through armor, flesh, and sinew. This distraction provided the Chief enough time to ask Nasuada for reinforcements. "Nasuada, there's another dragon rider with his red dragon… need… help." John said weakly before passing out.

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Nasuada sat in her tent examining the small device that the green armored soldier had given her. After looking over it for the past three hours, she gave up and replaced it in her ear. Suddenly, John's voice rang out. "Nasuada, there's another dragon rider… red dragon…help." Nasuada stood up in alarm. Now she knew the purpose of the small device. Quickly, she sent for her personal messenger to inform Eragon of the situation.

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John regained consciousness after some time, he saw Arya using a bow and arrows to distract Murtagh while Thel shot at him with his plasma rifle and swung at him with his energy sword. A few feet away from him, he saw his SMG. He slowly crawled towards it in the dirt, mud, and blood. He could hear Cortana's distant voice in the back of his head. All he was intent on was getting to that SMG and helping his friends. After a long and excruciating moment, he finally gripped the handle of the gun, aimed at the beast's open mouth, and pulled the trigger. There was a cold and unforgiving _click_; empty. He dropped the gun and stared at the sky, he could see the crows already circling overhead, it reminded him of the halo. His vision became blurry, then, for the second time, John passed out.

John opened his eyes. He was in the base camp's empty infirmary, it was almost nighttime. His armor was still on him, minus the helmet. He groaned as he sat up. Then he realized that Arya sat beside him. "What happened?" John asked. "We didn't suffer any major injuries, Eragon arrived just in time, and I only lost one arrow today." Arya had to admit, John was very handsome without his helmet, she hadn't even realized that this was the first time she had seen his face. Slowly, she began to inch closer to him; her heartbeat began to beat frantically when her face was centimeters to his. John closed the remaining gap between them; their lips met in a passionate kiss. They could feel their blood start to boil. John was the first to sense something wrong. "Stop, Arya, stop," "What's the matter John?" "We barely even know each other; maybe we should give this some time." "You seem like a nice guy, and you saved my life, that's good enough for me."

As Arya began to inch closer again, John's raging hormones overruled his reason and logic. They came together again, first soft, but then the kisses began to grow in intensity. Somewhere in all of this, Arya heard John murmur something that sounded like, "Screw regulations." John began to detach pieces of armor to reveal his undersuit. Suddenly, the tent flap opened and the couple froze mid-kiss. Thel entered the tent and then also froze. John's voice was barely a whisper "Can you keep a secret?" Thel nodded slightly, and then exited the infirmary with a dark violet blush.

Arya and John sat in silence and mortification. Then John silently reattached his armor, picked up his helmet, and left.

00000

Thel had seen the impossible. He saw the Spartan running to catch up to him. "Are we going to discuss what just happened?" Arbiter asked. "I can't help it, Thel, I love her." John replied. "Spartan, you have to face the facts; she is an elf, you are a Spartan, both designed to kill for justice. You cannot afford to let your mind wander at a time like this." John sighed, "I know, you're right, what was I thinking?"

"Don't fret, come, let's have some dinner to ease our worries." Thel said.

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Arya sat in her tent, thinking about what had happened. In all her one hundred years, she had never found one quite like John, he was strong, swift, and brave; a natural leader. A messenger entered her tent. "This is for you, Lady Arya." She received her missing arrow! She noticed that there was a note attached to the arrow.

_Arya,_

_ An arrow is another priceless bullet on the battlefield, every shot counts._

_ '_It must've been sent from John.' She thought. That night, she fell asleep with the arrow clutched to her chest.

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The next day was all work. Thel, John, Arya, Eragon, Saphira, and a few helpers managed to salvage a dozen machine gun turrets, a few vehicles, and all of the weapons in the armory from the Dawn. The day was spent on teaching the troops on how to operate rifles and shotguns, pistol training was for tomorrow, and rocket launchers were reserved for Thel or John only.

The relationship between John and Arya continued to grow steadily; they could often be seen holding hands or laughing together. Eragon began to notice, and he didn't like it. He decided to confront the Spartan, and do what he should have done a long time ago.

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_OOHHHHH, Eragon is pissed, better watch out Master Chief! He just might poke your eye out with his sword Brisingr, but looks like John's got Thel and Arya on his side. See you next time._


	5. Calm Before the Storm

_Author's Note: Alright, John & Arya, tell me what you think in the reviews, in the meantime, Chief better watch out! Eragon just might scratch some of his armor paint! (If he's lucky). So, as always, enjoy this chapter._

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Eragon stormed to the archery range, which had been transformed into the shooting range. John was there, helping the people who had trouble with their gun. Even Arya now carried a M6C silenced pistol on her hip. Personally, Eragon was disgusted, they didn't need these special weapons to win this war, they could manage by themselves, through perseverance and valor. He knew speaking to Nasuada wouldn't help, she was happy that the Varden had help. He had to deal with the problem on his own, so be it. The Spartan saw him coming. He immobilized the giant with a quick spell, and drew his sword. "What is the meaning of this?" John spat through gritted teeth. "I am thinking on killing you." came Eragon's cold reply. Then Saphira landed beside Eragon and growled, _'Don't be a fool, Eragon! Stop this madness at once! Can't you see they're only trying to help?' _Eragon snapped, "They can help us by leaving, we don't need their help."

Thel arrived on the scene and activated his energy sword, "Eragon, killing John will not right any wrongs." Eragon summoned all the energy he could muster and put it into a single spell. "Brisingr!" Thel was blasted with a heat so intense that his armor began to melt and he could feel his flesh being seared by the intense inferno.

Eragon ended the spell and drew energy from his ring Aren. Thel collapsed in a smoking heap of armor and burnt flesh. John saw his sword burst into flame. Saphira pounced on Eragon before he could run through John with his flaming sword. Nasuada approached the pinned Dragon Rider, "I am very disappointed in you, Eragon." He bowed his head in shame. _'What have I done?' _Eragon thought to himself. John was able to move again, so he carried Thel to the infirmary after giving Eragon a piercing glare.

Once John made sure Thel was going to be alright, he made his way to Eragon's tent. He flinched when the armored giant entered. "Jealousy, anger and revenge can often only hurt the ones around you." John said quietly. Eragon remained silent. "Did you consider the consequences before your foolish act?" There was no answer. "Looks like you learned a lesson today; use your brain before using your muscle, that's why it's there… I'll see you around." Then John left.

The Master Chief almost felt sorry for the Rider, but he had no time to think about that now. He proceeded to the Dawn's crash site. There, he gathered pieces of Sangheili armor to replace Thel's old armor which was melted and destroyed beyond use. John grabbed a combat helmet, commando shoulder plates, ascetic body armor, and other essentials. He knew Thel would not want to don his previous Arbiter armor. He carried the load to the infirmary where he placed the pieces neatly next to a sleeping Thel.

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Inside her tent, Arya was fuming. She knew that Eragon pursued her, but she didn't know that he would be stupid and ignorant enough to pull a stunt like that, even Saphira knew better. Ever since John and Thel arrived at the camp, Eragon had been less and less like himself, and now this happens. She absentmindedly took apart and polished her pistol just like John had shown her.

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Chief went to the sparring arena. He didn't know what he was doing there; maybe he just needed time to think. Arya silently walked up to John and wrapped her arms around John's cold, titanium armored waist. Then John took off his helmet and bent down to press his lips against hers in a soft, kiss. "Arya, I love you, if anything happens to one of us, I just want you to know that." Suddenly, horns sounded in the distance. The entire base camp was alert and clambering to dress in their armor and report to their assigned positions. He even saw Thel stumble from the infirmary in the armor that he had left for him. John sprinted to where the trouble was. At the main entrance of the camp, there was a heavily wounded and bloody scout. "It's the Empire! They have an army of thousands! They are heading this way!" John was expecting this. He knew sooner or later there would be an attack, but the men were ready, he knew they were.

John looked into the horizon and activated his zoom feature on his helmet. Indeed, there was an enemy camp, situated about fifty clicks from theirs. Inside his helmet John smiled, 'They will never know what hit them.' he thought.

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Orik rushed to the Varden's aid with a full legion of battle-ready dwarves when he heard they were about to be attacked by the blasted Empire. They were nearing the camp, only a few leagues left of marching.

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In Nasuada's central command tent, John, Thel, Arya, Eragon, Roran, and Nasuada were busy discussing how they were going to defend or attack the empire when a messenger came and told Nasuada of the news, "The dwarves have marched here to aid us in the upcoming battle." Nasuada nodded and replied, "Give them my thanks." She then turned back to the group. "You all know your orders, move out!"

John was to be commanding his group which used guns; they were stationed in the rear long ranged group. Thel was to be in control of his group of swordsmen at the front lines. Arya was in charge of the archers. Eragon was going solo. And Roran, well, you all know what Roran was doing.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, the Empire's army readied their troops for a charge. This was all too familiar to John, in the sky, he saw flock of crows and ravens expecting the upcoming feast that was sure to ensue.

John was armed to the teeth, two SMGs on his hips, a shotgun on his back and an assault rifle in his hands. He was ready for any swords, spears, or arrows they can throw at him. He grinned in anticipation. There was a moment of complete silence. Suddenly Nasuada and the Empire general yelled simultaneously, "CHARGE!"

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_Not bad huh? Now Eragon is mentally depressed. How will that turn out? Hell, I don't even know. Oh well, I'll improvise. PLEASE REVIEW, or as a Supreme Commander of the Covenant Army, I will order a planet glassing! Lol, alright see you next chapter._


	6. Clash of the Titans

_Author's Note: Oooohhh yes, the moment we've all been waiting for. Army vs. army, time for some blood to be spilled and limbs to be hacked off. As always, enjoy._

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There was a moment of complete silence. Suddenly Nasuada and the Empire general yelled simultaneously, "CHARGE!" There was a loud roar as the two factions rushed towards each other. The armies clashed in a flurry of confusion, pain, and blood. Thel hacked his way through one enemy by another with dual energy swords. "FIRE!" John commanded. Suddenly, the battlefield erupted in gunfire. Scores of the Empire's soldiers fell before the awesome power of modern gunfire. Arya yelled, "Archers at the ready… FIRE!" a volley of deadly arrows rained on the Empire's soldiers but for every soldier they killed, there was always another one to take their place. John was going in close range with his shotgun. Every time the loud BOOM sounded, a soldier would be blasted into bits of bloody flesh.

Many soldiers fell before Arby 'n' The Chief's fearsome power. Thel's energy swords sliced through armor, flesh and bone like a chainsaw through butter. With each stroke, a soldier would lose an arm, a head, both his legs, or all of the above. The dynamic duo was unstoppable. John soon ran out of ammunition for his shotgun, so he used his hands instead, which surprisingly, made more of a mess. John gave a fierce battle cry, frightening the enemy soldiers, forcing many of them to flee. He ripped through their fragile bodies with his gauntleted hands like ripping through paper, only messier. Internal organs were spilled all around them. The scene was one, big, slaughterhouse. John smiled as he tore a man's head off of his neck and hurled it at a fleeing soldier causing him to fall and get trampled into the ground under other soldiers' feet. All around them, blood, organs, body parts, and dismembered limbs were flying in all directions.

Soon, there was an explosion of fire. Saphira entered the fight, a stream of fire spilling from her maw, engulfing many soldiers in a fiery inferno. John could smell the scent of burnt flesh even through his helmet filters. After hours of endless gore and fighting, Thel and Chief began to tire. Their progress slowed. John's muscles began to ache, and his blows were weaker and slower. Almost when it seemed that they would lose, somebody yelled, "The dwarves are here, the dwarves are here!" John could see an entire legion of relatively short but bulky people wielding axes and short swords. John grinned behind his helmet and pulled out his dual SMGs and began to fill the enemy with holes and lead.

Just when the Empire's soldiers seemed to lose their morale, a huge red dragon with its rider dove down from the sky and engulfed the archer line with flames. "NO!" John yelled as he ran towards Arya's fallen squad of archers. He searched for any sign of Arya, or her body. "Arya, ARYA!" John yelled her name again and again in hopes of hearing an answer. There was none. The ruby dragon landed in front of John with a loud _thud_, the rider stared at John with a sadistic smile on his lips.

"Life, is so fragile when it comes to war, don't you agree?" Murtagh asked coldly. John aimed his SMGs at the dragon and fired. The rounds clattered harmlessly on the Dragon's rock-hard scales. The Rider laughed at John's feeble attempt to hurt them. The blood red dragon swiped at John with its clawed feet. Instead of dodging or blocking the blow, John caught the dragon's arm and threw it over his shoulder along with its rider with a fearsome roar. Murtagh got to his feet and drew power from his sword's jewel. He was surprised, _'No man can has the strength to throw a dragon this size.'_ Before Murtagh had a chance to retaliate, John rushed past Murtagh and charged at the dragon. Murtagh's dragon reared his head back to unleash another torrent of searing flames but John clamped the dragon's mouth shut with one arm while beating its head with the other. The wards Murtagh placed around his dragon quickly drained his strength while John was still beating the dragon. His dragon and he both cried out in shared pain, Murtagh could not find the right words to remove the wards he had placed on his dragon through all the pain. He soon collapsed from exhaustion and lack of energy while John now continued to tenderize the dragon's head with _both _fists now.

John was still beating on the dead dragon when the battle was over. Murtagh's wards had drained him of his power and taken his life whilst his dragon's skull caved in from John's devastating attack. When he lost the will to fight, John fell to his knees and let out a cry of angst. And for the rest of the night, John knelt there, crying for his lost love.

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Arya opened her eyes to a bright and wonderful world. She felt a degree of happiness and peace that she had never felt before. She inhaled the scent of fresh flowers and juniper trees. She heard a river with its water flowing almost musically downriver. There was a strange figure standing beside her, and he spoke in a booming voice, "Arya, it is not your time yet, return now to your loved one, and pursue everlasting peace and happiness." there was a blinding light, and everything faded to black.

Arya woke to a different scene. Her back ached and she had a deep gash in her hip. She was lying among the charred remains of her archers. There was an iron smell of blood and burnt corpses in the air. Hundreds of crows and vultures could be seen picking on the flesh of the dead. Arya painfully stood up and headed towards the base camp.

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"He has been becoming ever more despondent." Thel reported to Nasuada in her tent. "Yes, Arya's loss has inflicted a heavy toll on our troops' moral and our alliance with the elves. "You don't understand, I sometimes see him holding his pistol against his head." Nasuada replied coolly, "I don't think _you _understand Thel 'Vadam, I have other, more important issues to focus on, like trying to hold together our alliance with the elves, I congratulate your friend's achievement on killing Murtagh, but I am just too busy to see to everyone's problems." Thel glared at her then said, "So be it."

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"I don't understand it!" Galbatorix paced tirelessly in his throne room. "How can one man kill my powerful dragon rider?" He continued to mutter unintelligibly. A servant came into the room and bowed to the Mad King. But before the servant could open his mouth to speak, Galbatorix blasted him into tiny pieces of burning flesh and mangled limbs. "That's better." He said to himself with a smile.

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John studied the pistol in his hands without actually seeing it. The magazine was gone, but there was one bullet in the chamber. He contemplated on how he would die every day in the UNSC; he would never think that he would claim his own life. He pressed the barrel of the weapon to his temple, counted to three, and pulled the trigger. '_Click' _the pistol jammed. John yelled in frustration and hurled the weapon out of his tent. He buried his face in his hands and wept. _'I have failed.'_ He thought to himself.

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_Man, poor John. Little did he know, Arya is not dead. This story wouldn't be a story without her. The story will continue. As always, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! See you next chapter. PEACE!_


	7. John's Proposal

_Author's Note: About this chapter, no blood and guts here, but bear with me, there will be blood and gore in the next chapter. Enjoy. _

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John sat in his tent, unmoving; he had bags under his eyes. He couldn't sleep, if he slept, he would only dream of her. The painful image of Murtagh's dragon dousing the archers with flames kept running through John's mind over and over again. He didn't even notice Thel coming into his already crowded tent. "We have all lost loved ones in war, John. You have to shake it off." John was about to answer when a messenger entered the tent, "Sir, Arya has been found on the battlefield, she is in the infirmary now with a nasty wound, but she'll live." John's heart jumped, Arya was still alive! He quickly dashed out the tent and sprinted toward the infirmary. There she was! Her wound was treated by a magician healer. When Arya saw John she smiled. John came to kneel beside her. She sat up, and they locked lips in a reuniting kiss. "Did I ever mention that I love you?" John whispered in between kisses. "I think you did once." Arya replied with a smile, and then they continued.

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Eragon paced back and forth restlessly. Arya had returned, he was still deciding whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. '_Rest little one, you and Arya were never meant to be. You should just let the past be past. I'm sure you will find someone else in due time.' _Saphira chided "But it's just not fair!" Eragon growled. "I don't understand why she would be interested in a simple soldier instead of a Rider." _'Eragon, do not let your feelings for Arya overcome your reason and logic, I had thought that Oromis and Brom taught you better.'_ Eragon was taken aback by her insult. It felt like now, everybody was against him, even his own dragon! He suddenly felt very alone. _'I am not against you Eragon, I am merely giving reasonable advice that I expect you to heed.' _Eragon sighed and lay down next to Saphira, then fell into a deep, dreamless sleep under Saphira's wing.

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The next morning, Arya and John woke at the same time. Arya headed to the shooting range to practice using her pistol while John headed to the blacksmith. "What can I do for you Riderslayer?" "Is there by any chance that you can make a silver wedding ring?" John asked awkwardly. The blacksmith grinned, "Sure, now, if you don't mind me asking, who is it for?" John looked at the man and spoke in a mechanical monotone, "That information is classified and will not be released to the general public." The blacksmith shrugged and went to work.

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The day passed quickly for everyone. It was nighttime again when John found Arya in the mess hall. He noticed other men staring at them. He sat beside her and whispered in her ear, "Come with me, I have a surprise waiting for you." They both stood up, and walked away. Arya followed John to the clearing by the river. John turned around and asked her in a serious voice, "Arya, you know I love you, right?" She nodded. "Then I have to ask you something… when this is all over …" John knelt to the ground and pulls out the silver **halo**, "…will you marry me?" Arya stood dumbstruck; she could feel tears brimming in her eyes. "Oh, John." She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. "Of course, my answer is yes." John could also feel tears about to overflow as he slid the ring onto Arya's finger. They both smiled at each other and sealed their love with a passionate kiss.

It was right after midnight when John and Arya were lying outside by the riverbank, out under the shining moon and the stars. They held each other in their arms kissing tenderly. Tonight, the stars seemed to smile, it cast a romantic glow on the couple. John pulled out a plastic packet from his pocket, '_I never thought that I would have to use this._' He thought as they both undressed and forgot about all their worries. "Are you sure you want to do this?" John asked, she nodded. Arya gasped in ecstasy as she felt John slide into her and push. She had never felt anything like this. They first started out slow, but their pace began to grow in intensity as they both began to grow hotter and hotter. John and Arya were slick with sweat as they continued. Arya cried out in delight as they reached the climax. After a moment, John slowed, they let out their held breaths and they both drifted off into sleep with their bodies still intertwined.

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_YEAH JOHN, GET SOME! DAMN, I'm gonna have to change this story to a rated M. So, yea, you know the drill, GET SOME REVIEWS IN! I need your advice, comments and wisdom._


	8. Another Mission

_Author's Note: Great, now John and Arya are engaged. Tell me what you think about that in the reviews. In the meantime, enjoy._

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Thel saw John sitting by Arya in the mess hall chattering idly. Everything was normal as can be. '_Just the way I like it.'_ Thel thought to himself. He grabbed a plate and piled it with every kind of meat that he could get his hands on and went to join his friends. It wasn't until Thel sat down beside Arya when he caught a glimpse of the silver band around her finger. He didn't know much about human traditions, but he knew this was a sign of upcoming marriage, and there was only one person he knew who Arya would answer 'yes' to. He gave John an awkward stare, John returned the stare with a sheepish grin. Thel had spent much of his time in the camp's library, when engaged, a couple of royal blood must be rich in order to receive the parents' approval, he wondered how this would work out.

"John, can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Thel asked John haltingly. "Sure." John replied. "John, you do know that Arya's mother is a queen?" There was no answer. "How are you going to win her mother's approval?" Again, there was no answer. Then John spoke, "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I take matters seriously. John, Arya is a princess."

"How do you know?"

"I've been doing some digging on Arya's family in the camp archives."

John frowned and said, "Alright, I'll think of something."

"Better think fast, because if the queen finds out that you are engaged with her daughter without her permission, she will execute you personally."

"Gee, thanks."

The two returned to their table and continued eating as if nothing had happened. John was troubled, _'Arya, a princess, it seems so unlikely. I wonder if Eragon knows about this.'_ Arya noticed John's troubled look, "John, is something wrong?" He put on a fake smile and replied, "No, everything's perfect." Suddenly Nasuada's voice rang out from the intercom system that was installed this morning, "John, Thel, and Arya, report to the command tent immediately!"

When they arrived at the large tent, it was completely transformed into a futuristic command center with the equipment from the Forward Unto Dawn. Nasuada greeted them with a nod and spoke with a tired voice, "Today, you are to eliminate an Empire camp located about three leagues north from here. Our scouts tell us it is heavily guarded by two magicians, **seven** horsemen, and a whole legion of swordsmen. We would send other men, but you are the only units we can spare at the moment. Good luck."

The trio saluted and began the long march towards their target, hiding among the many bushes and plants to avoid being seen by enemy recon forces. Once they reached the enemy's camp, John and Thel readied their sniper rifles to take out the enemy's magicians, since they would represent the greatest threat. _BANG, BANG! _The two spell casters' heads exploded in an eruption of blood, skull, and brain matter. The Empire's soldiers were alert in moments. The two continued to snipe from their position. While Arya advanced to finish them with her pistol. More troops poured from the barracks to confront them. John grinned in excitement as he watched another head pop clean off the man's shoulders in a shower of blood. Thel ran out of ammunition first, he attached his empty beam rifle on his back, activated both of his energy swords, and rushed the enemy. Arya was amazed at the effectiveness and lethality of the pistol in her hands. With each shot, another empire soldier fell to the ground with a bloody hole in his head. Thel cut down every single soldier he saw, he moved so fast that he became a dancing blur, sowing death and mayhem everywhere he went. The soldiers were powerless against John's sniper rifle as he picked off any soldiers who tried to flee. Arya then ran out of ammo and joined Thel in his violent frenzy of flying blades and flying severed limbs. The soldiers were soon eliminated. The last man standing threw down his sword and ran away. John proceeded to shoot him in the leg with his last bullet. The wounded soldier tried crawling away, but Thel grabbed and lifted the man into the air by his neck. Great fear could be seen in the man's eyes. Thel smiled as he pulled down the man's trousers and sliced off the person's manhood with his energy sword and watched him bleed to death clutching the area where his reproductive organs were supposed to be.

John looked up to see a humongous black dragon descend from the sky and wrap its claws around him. He could feel himself being lifted into the air. The rider recited a quick spell, and John relaxed, asleep as the dragon carried him away.

Arya couldn't find John anywhere; there was a loud roar of a dragon. She looked to the sky to see Galbatorix with his colossal dragon carrying the unconscious super soldier away in its talons. Thel approached Arya and put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Come Arya, we must inform Nasuada of what conspired here." She nodded forlornly as she followed the elite back to the base camp.

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"What do you mean he's been captured?" Nasuada yelled. "The King had the courage to show his face and abducted John." Thel replied calmly. "Where is Arya?" Nasuada asked.

"Arya… is in her quarters she's… not feeling well."

"There is no hope for John; it is likely that he was taken to Uru'baen, the capital of the Empire. No Varden has ever breached its walls."

"I understand, Lady Nasuada."

And with that, Thel left, and walked towards Arya's tent. When Arbiter entered the tent, he could see that she was still in full grey Mark IV Recon-variant powered assault armor with her sword, pistol, and **seven** clips of magnum ammo clipped to her belt. Thel sighed, "Going alone is suicide, and you know that right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Then I'm going with you."

Arya was surprised, she expected that Thel would try and convince her to stay. Thel brought his two energy swords and a plasma repeater. They snuck out of camp when it was nightfall while everybody was still asleep, and so began their journey to find their comrade.

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_Man! John just can't catch a break! For those of you who don't know what a plasma repeater is, go on halopedia and look it up. And yes, Arya has recon armor! Also, I have the Halo __**seven **__references in bold. So yea, see you next chapter._


	9. Captivity

_Author's Note: Arya has RECON! YEAH! (Composes himself) So, John is trapped in Uru'baen. Can he take the torture of listening to the king rant about how great he is? Let's find out! Enjoy. _

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John's vision was blurry; he could hear somebody talking outside. He could tell he was drugged from the painful throbbing of his head. He stood up when his vision cleared. He still had his armor on, maybe the Empire didn't want to damage it because they didn't know how to remove it. He saw the rider who captured him outside his cell wall. His bodyguard yelled, "Bow down before the King Galbatorix!" John didn't bow. "I said bow down!"

"Or what?" John challenged. The guard's hand reached for his sword. The king held up his hand to stop him. Galbatorix spoke in a polite, charming tone, "I have heard many good things about you… you killed a rider by yourself, and you defeated hundreds of my soldiers. Join me, and we can have everything your heart desires, riches beyond your wildest imagination, and power greater than the great Evandar himself." John knew this trick, so he remained silent and reached for his hidden knife concealed in a secret compartment on his hip armor. Then he kneeled and bowed his head. The king smiled and motioned the guard to unlock the cell door. As soon as the door swung open, in a blur, John drew his knife and threw it. The knife went straight for Galbatorix's throat but instead, it bounced off one of the king's protective wards. The minor decrease of energy only made Galbatorix flinch. The king whispered a quick spell that sent John flying back. The guard locked the door behind John as he was dragged out of his cell by his neck. Galbatorix was incredibly strong; John could not free himself from his grip. "You chose to deny my generous offer," the king growled through gritted teeth, "and so you chose a slow and painful death. As they neared their destination, John could hear screams of pain and suffering. Galbatorix smiled at John's discomfort. John was strapped to a stone table with leather straps and frozen by Galbatorix's spell. "You will tell me what you know, or I will have you feel insufferable pain!"

"Do your worst, you piece of shit!"

The king smiled coldly, "With pleasure." Galbatorix filled John's brain with images of Arya, Thel, and everybody else he cared for dying horrible deaths. He saw Arya burnt alive by Murtagh's scarlet dragon. He saw Thel being stabbed to death with Eragon's flaming sword. He caught a glimpse of Sergeant Johnson blasted by 343 Guilty Spark and Miranda Keyes getting shot five times in the back with a spiker. John was designed to handle mental stress, and physical pain, but nothing came close to what he was experiencing. He saw these horrifying images again and again. He saw all the marines who died in the war, every one screaming in fear and pain, screaming for him to help them. John gritted his teeth, '_This isn't real, it's all in your head.' _He threw up mental barricades around his consciousness, and the images disappeared. "You will take an especially long time to break… so be it." Galbatorix tried to break in John's mental barriers, but years of training has hardened and improved his mental capabilities. Suddenly John remembered the incident with Eragon. He left a hole in his mental barrier, Galbatorix eagerly entered, only to find himself immersed into John's personal nightmares of his past. John smiled as he saw the king cringe and felt him leave his mind. For a moment, the king lost focus on his spell of immobilization. John used this window of opportunity to break free of his leather bindings and smash Galbatorix's head on the stone wall, breaking his powerful wards and rendering the mad king unconscious.

John ran for the exit to the prison. At the entrance, a dozen guards waited for him outside. There was no time to kill them all, so John just barreled through them sending some flying and trampling others. He ran through the dark streets of Uru'baen, looking out for any Empire soldiers. At the edge of the city, there was a siege wall fifty feet high. The entrance was guarded by twice the number of guards than usual, _'Oh well.'_ John thought, the guards didn't show much resistance but a lot more were on the way. He pushed the gate open and ran like hell.

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Arya and Thel trekked for days, staying away from the Empire's patrols and stocking up on resources at small towns along the way. And now, they finally reached Uru'baen, the capital of the Empire. For some reason, the entire city was on alert. Arya used her helmet's zoom feature to take a better look, the gate was open, and John sprinted out! He was followed by what looked like half of Galbatorix's army. Thel activated his energy swords and Arya pulled out her pistol.

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John couldn't remember the last time he ran this fast. Each footstep kicked up a trail of dust and made cracks in the ground. He soon ran out of energy and turned around to face his enemies. The soldiers were equally if not more tired than John. Suddenly, one of them fell to the ground with a hole in his head. John smiled, as he saw Thel rush at the group of soldiers, turning them into slices of bloody meat. John grinned as he also joined the fight, tearing people's limbs off and using them as weapons. Somewhere, Arya sniped with her pistol going for headshots as much as possible.

The unstoppable trio was back together again, the empire's soldiers never stood a chance. Mangled body parts, severed limbs, a pool of blood and one soldier were all that remained of the enemy. John grabbed the man's head and ripped it off of his shoulders along with the man's spine Predator style! John embraced Arya as she ran towards him. "Let's go home." John said softly.

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Galbatorix held a piece of ice to his aching head. "That demon might've escaped this time, but he will not be so lucky the next," he said to himself with a smile.

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_Okay, that's it for this chapter, hope you liked it, and see you next time. PEACE OUT!_


	10. Journey to Ellesmera

_Author's Note: Alright! John's back! AND ARYA STILL HAS RECON! Awesome. Well, nothing much to this chapter, but hey, stay with me here. Enjoy, if you dare._

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John followed Arya into her tent, there; they began to strip themselves of their armor. Then they locked lips in a tender kiss and forgot about their worries and problems. Arya moaned in ecstasy as John entered and dug his way into her. John grunted in exertion as he kept going. Arya gasped in pleasure as their session reached its peak. They were both slick with moisture as they continued throughout the night.

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John opened his eyes groggily, last night was very laborious. Arya stirred and awoke. John smiled, "Good morning princess." Arya smiled back, "Hello John." They both dressed in their armor, then proceeded to the sparring arena for a rematch. John noticed Arya's new Recon-variant armor, "Nice armor, where did you get it?" She put on her helmet and replied, "It was salvaged from the Dawn, I found it in the armory, you like it?" She spun around to show off her armor. John caught her in his arms, "I love it." Arya blushed behind her visor.

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Thel started off with his early morning stretches. After that, he headed towards the mess hall to grab something to eat. Thel was nibbling on a slab of bacon when he saw John and Arya walk out of her tent. The realization hit him like a truck. He dropped the bacon. '_Oh shit, ooohhh shit, no, no, no, no, no…' _John had not only proposed but he… Thel gagged as he put that thought out of his mind. The elite shuddered as he thought about what would happen to John if Arya were to be… pregnant… without the queen knowing. He put these disturbing thoughts aside as he went to get another piece of bacon.

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"You might've won against Murtagh or Galbatorix, but you're going to lose this fight!" Arya said to John as she put her fists up in a fighting position. John, as always, stayed quiet. This time, John didn't need to worry about hurting Arya while she was wearing titanium plating armor. They both rushed at each other. The wind was knocked out of Arya as John slammed into her. She jumped away, out of John's reach. They circled each other again. John attacked first with an uppercut. Arya rolled out of the way and jumped onto John's back. He grunted, grabbed her shoulders and threw her off. Arya landed on her feet, only to see John charging at her again. A large crowd gathered again to see the duel. Arya met John's charge with a roundhouse kick to the chest. The force of the blow sent John stumbling back. Arya took this chance to tackle John to the ground and pin him down in a headlock. John squirmed and writhed but to no avail, so he stood up, lifting Arya into the air, and purposely landed on his back, the force of the landing loosened Arya's hold on the giant. John got to his feet the same time Arya did. She performed a series of punches and kicks, forcing John into a defensive position. She paused to perform another kick, but John countered with a devastating ground pound. The shockwave sent Arya flying. There were two massive cracks in the earth where John's fists met the ground. Arya recovered and rushed at John again. Arya was dodging his every attack, trying to sneak in a couple of jabs and kicks in.

The competition went on for quite some time. John was tired, he panted heavily and his blocks and blows were slower and weaker. Arya, however, was in better condition; finally she jumped in the air and roundhoused John in the face. John saw his helmet visor crack and his HUD become distorted; he knew he was flying through the air. He landed painfully on his back. He saw Arya kneeling on top of him. "You win Arya." He groaned.

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In her tent, Nasuada was communicating with the Queen of the Elves. "You mean to say that my daughter was killed in battle and now she's back from the dead?" Nasuada replied, "I know how this sounds, but you're just going to have to trust me." The queen's voice was icy, "No, I want to see my daughter in person. So be it!" the queen's image disappeared from the mirror. Nasuada sighed and rubbed her aching head.

Nasuada's voice rang out from the loudspeakers, "John, Thel, and Arya, report to the central command tent immediately!"

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John headed towards the armory. He needed a replacement for his armor; it was falling apart. He was wearing it all the way since Halo 2 up until now. He saw pieces of a full Mark V Mjolnir powered assault armor. He pieced together his new armor then retrieved a MA5C assault rifle and started for the command tent.

Nasuada was too tired to notice John's new armor. "Now that we're all here, we can begin. The queen doesn't believe that Arya is back from the dead, you have to travel to Ellesmera and meet with the queen in order for this alliance to continue." Eragon then entered the tent. "I'm going too." Nasuada replied sternly, "No Eragon, we need you here if the Empire decides to attack."

Eragon growled, "I will go."

"Eragon! As your liege lord, I command you not to go."

Saphira could sense Eragon's anger, _'Be careful with your temper, little one.' _Eragon wasn't listening. Arya, John, and Thel left the tent as tension rose. Eragon made a sigh in submission and stormed out of the tent.

The three warriors stood at the camp's entrance, and began their journey to Ellesmera.

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_Just so there's no confusion, Arya has Mark IV Recon armor while John has Mark V Mjolnir armor. And no, Arya is not pregnant and never will be throughout this story._


	11. Didn't See that One Coming

_Author's Note: So, blah, blah, blah, John gets rescued, Arya gets hitched (for the second time), and they go on another adventure, hooah! Same old, same old, enjoy._

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John looked through his sniper scope to see the tenth Empire scouting party they've encountered. Each scouting party only consisted of five people, three swordsmen, one magician, and one horseman. He saw Thel pull out his beam rifle, they nodded to each other and picked a target. In two seconds flat, the magician's and the horseman's head exploded in a bloody fountain of brains and crushed skull as the two took their shots while Arya was up front with her pistol who finished the remaining three with three bullets. Another perfect stealth kill. The soldiers were killed without knowing what happened.

The three stood and continued on their way towards the ancient city of Ellesmera. They've been walking for three days nonstop and they were tired. The trio saw a small village in the distance and decided to stock up and rest there. When they approached the village, the wooden buildings seemed abandoned. It felt eerily quiet, but suddenly, dozens upon dozens of archers leapt from their hiding spots and drew their bows. They were not Empire soldiers, they were civilians forced to defend themselves. A man stepped out from behind an overturned wagon. "State your business here!" John spoke, "We only need some food, some water and someplace to stay for one night."

"Well, do you have anything to trade?" the man asked.

"No, but we have money." John replied.

"Money is useless here, we need supplies!"

John turned to his friends, Thel provided a spare plasma pistol, while Arya pulled out her unused SMG and John detached his M6G pistol. John walked forward with their offerings. The man looked over the supplies and asked, "What's this?" John replied, "They are weapons, you just have to aim and pull the trigger. It is guaranteed an instant kill." John lied. The man shouted out orders to some men who carried the food and water up for trade. A young boy about the age of thirteen approached John, "I will show you to your rooms." The three followed the boy to a large cottage which consisted of only two rooms. The boy said a quick 'thank you' as John handed him a silver coin. And there they stayed for the remainder of the day.

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_UNSC frigate the Everlasting Fury_

_Scheduled orbital slipspace jump in __**00:40:03.07**_

Captain Larsen stood in the bridge of the Everlasting Fury. Suddenly, the Fury started to rumble and shake. "What's happening?" Larsen yelled over the rumbling. The ship's AI, Arden replied, "The ship's slipspace drive has malfunctioned due to an unstable engine reactor. We are about to make a blind slipspace jump in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

Everything went black… again.

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Spartan IV Kyle **214 **woke in his cryo pod and waited for the technicians to open his pod. There were none. He groaned as he pushed open his pod. "Hello? Hello?" There was no answer. The Fury looked like it went through hell; the walls had become dilapidated and sparking wires were exposed. Kyle headed towards the armory. He didn't see anybody on the way. Kyle donned his cobalt Mark V Mjolnir powered assault armor then grabbed a MA5C assault rifle along with a few plasma grenades.

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John, Thel, and Arya were on the road again, feeling well-rested and energized. They encountered more Empire troops on the way, but they showed little resistance. They walked for another **seven** hours when the sky turned a dark shade of red, and what was left of an UNSC frigate fell from the sky and crashed down to earth with a loud BOOM!

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The crash landing threw Kyle off of his feet, but his armor took most of the impact. He ran for the frigate's hangar. There he saw a few dozen marines and a couple of wounded here and there. Kyle asked a nearby marine, "Soldier, what happened here?"

"Arden says it was a malfunction of the slipspace drive."

"Any idea where we are?"

"Hell if I know."

"What about the captain?"

"Sir… the captain is KIA, he died from the crash."

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John sprinted toward the crash site. As he activated the zoom on his helmet, he saw a cobalt armored Spartan exit the crashed ship through the open hangar doors. As he approached the Spartan, John noticed right away that he wasn't a fellow Spartan II or a Spartan III. Kyle saw another Spartan running towards him. He noticed the numbers **117** emblazoned on his chest. Kyle removed his helmet, so did John. _'Holy shit.'_ This thought belonged to both of them.

Thel and Arya ran to catch up to John. They saw him talking to another Spartan, they both had their helmets off and… their faces looked exactly the same. Kyle spoke first, "So, how've you been, twin brother?"

"Alright, you?"

"Pretty shitty, the Everlasting Fury had a problem with its slipspace drive."

"Hey, same thing happened with the Forward Unto Dawn."

Thel and Arya were puzzled, there were _two _Johns? Kyle looked at John, "Uh, maybe it's time you introduced me to your friends."

John turned to face them, "Arya, Thel, this is my twin brother, Kyle."

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_DAMN! Bet you didn't see that one coming! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. Who knew John had a twin brother? I DID! Well, yeah, blah, blah, blah, see you next time!_


	12. The Journey Continues

_Author's Note: Yes, John has a twin brother named Kyle in this story. This chapter doesn't have much going on, but stay with me here. It's about to get a little more exciting in the next few chapters. Enjoy._

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John sat next to his brother by the campfire. Earlier this afternoon, they had sent the surviving marines of the Fury's crash back to the Varden camp along with whatever they could salvage from the debris. They couldn't allow the Empire to get their hands on any equipment.

Kyle idly sharpened his machete, Arya was cleaning her pistol, John was standing guard, and Thel was sleeping. Our four heroes had crossed almost half of Alagasia in less than ten hours, and they needed rest. They were almost to the city of Ellesmera; they could already see the lofty trees of the forest, only a few more miles more.

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Eragon sat in his tent and glared at the ground, irritated at the fact that everyone had forgotten his importance. Everybody had conveniently forgotten about the great Shadeslayer. _'One day, I will get my revenge, I swear this.'_ He thought to himself. _'Remember what John said, little one. He was kind enough to come and reason with you.' _Saphira chided. _'To hell with John and his friend! It would've been better for all of us if they hadn't shown up here.' _Eragon spat.

'_Eragon! Stop being so arrogant and selfish. They are only trying to help, why can't you see that? You don't think about what's best for the Varden, those two are here to increase our survival chances. What are you going to tell the weeping mothers or wives when people are killed because you've failed to see what is best for them?'_

'_We don't need them here! And I don't need you to nag me about what I can or can't see!'_

'_There is no use arguing with you when you're like this.' _Saphira ended their mental conversation and set up mental barriers around her mind.

"We don't need them here." Eragon murmured to himself silently.

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The group of four rested under the canopy of the forest. "We're almost there, only a mile left." Arya reported. They continued to walk deep into the ancient forest, tired and weary. They drank what was left of their water yesterday and their food was reduced to a few crumbs. Now, even Arya was dragging her feet. Suddenly, **seven** elves riding on strange beasts that looked like horses came rushing from deep within the forest. They almost looked… happy. John couldn't picture them killing anybody. They wore a bright smile on their faces and were literally prancing with joy. Arya seemed happy too, the elves escorted the four to their destination.

The city was beautiful; almost everything looked like it was made from trees. Many elves stared upon the four with curiosity. Kyle was nervous, he felt like he had entered a world of fiction, like everything was a fantasy. The people with the pointed ears, and the trees made into buildings, it all made Kyle tense. They entered a huge building where a woman sat upon a throne. "Where is my daughter?" Arya removed her recon helmet and greeted her mother in a foreign language. There were tears in both of their eyes as they embraced. The queen turned her attention to Arya's three bodyguards. "I thank you for bringing my daughter here safely, you will be treated like one of our own here." An elf approached the three and spoke in an almost musical voice, "Come, I will show you to where you will stay." They followed the elf to a large tree with a staircase. "Enjoy your stay." The elf left the three.

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John knocked on Arya's door. She smiled when she saw John standing in the doorway. Inside, John removed his helmet, then they wrapped their arms around each other and shared a loving kiss. Suddenly the door flew open and the queen entered to catch the couple mid-kiss. "Oh, shit." Arya and John both said at the same time.

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_, Oh shit indeed. Find out what happens to John and Arya next chapter! PEACE!_


	13. Oh Shit

_Author's Note: Yeah, I admit it; I was planning on this ever since the beginning of John and Arya's romance. Let's see what happens to poor John. Enjoy!_

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"Oh, shit." John and Arya said at the same time. The queen's face took on a dark expression. She sent John flying back with a quick spell. John's armor took most of the impact, but the wind was still driven from his lungs. He put on his helmet again. The look in the queen's eyes spelled bloody murder, Arya came to John's defense, "Mother, stop!" The queen glared at her daughter and spoke in a menacing tone, "I will deal with you later." The queen called upon her bodyguards to arrest John. He didn't resist as they escorted him away.

John was locked in an empty cell with iron bars. He didn't try to escape; he knew that if he did, aggression between the Varden and the elves would increase. He watched as his friends were also dragged into cells. "Nice going John, what did you do this time?" Kyle called from his cell. "Your brother has an affair with the queen's daughter." Thel answered.

"Holy shit… don't you be turning into a playboy on me John."

"Kyle, this is serious. Think of the damage we've done to the alliance between the Varden and the elves." John said.

"We? Don't you mean you? You got us into this mess; now tell us how we're going to get out."

"These bars are made of iron, we can break out easily."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I chose not to aggravate the situation."

"I warned you of this John." Thel said.

"Great, sit here and rot, sounds like a nice plan."

"Shut up Kyle." Thel and John both snapped.

The queen entered the detention wing and turned to face John. The queen's guards unlocked the cell and escorted John away. Outside, John saw a whipping post. "Remove your armor!" one of the guards growled at him. John detached his armor piece by piece, and removed the top of his undersuit. The elves secured John's arms to the post as another elf read the crimes John had been charged with. "Punishment for these crimes, is sixty lashes."

John didn't even flinch as a burning line was streaked across his back. He ignored most of the pain, but the one pain he could not ignore was the aching in his chest as he saw Arya being forced to watch him take his punishment. John lost count of how many lashes he had taken. But his back ached as the whip bit into his muscles and skin again and again. He started to fade in and out of consciousness as the number of lashes reached fifty. As the last blows were struck, the elves removed John from the whipping post. He got to his feet and reattached his armor silently and painfully. John's advanced Mark V suit injected biofoam into his wounds.

The elves stared in amazement as John walked back into the detention wing without showing any signs of pain. John collapsed on the dirty floor of his cell and fell into unconsciousness.

John was awoken from his sleep in the middle of the night by a rattling sound. Somebody was opening his cell door. It was one of the guards. "You are free to go, Riderslayer. The queen has pardoned your crimes, but she asks you to see her in her chambers." John nodded and noticed that the cells where his friends were kept were empty.

As John entered the queen's quarters, he knelt down. "Rise, Riderslayer." He did. "I must admit, I have never seen any man or elf walk away from sixty lashes like that, I am impressed. Now, how long have you been courting my daughter?" John spoke in a mechanical monotone, "Ever since we fought together to take down an Empire supply caravan, I saved her life, but I was wounded in the process."

"I see, so you love her?"

John nodded.

"Very well, I see you have presented Arya with a ring. You both have my blessing." John could not believe what he was hearing. "Allow me to offer my apologies, I acted without thinking."

"It's no problem, but with all due respect, I don't think I am the one you should be apologizing to." John replied. The queen nodded. Arya entered the room and rushed towards John. They both shared a tight embrace. "My daughter, I beg you accept my apologies, I behaved rashly and impulsively."

Arya smiled and replied in a language John could not understand. But the queen smiled back, then, John and Arya shared a tender kiss. "I will arrange the marriage to be tomorrow." The queen suddenly said. John and Arya smiled at each other. "That sounds really good." John murmured.

00000

Arya was wearing a beautiful white dress adorned with flowers and jewels while John was dressed in the elves' traditional outfit of marriage. Once both John and Arya recited their vows in the Ancient Language, their lips met in a loving caress. The crowd erupted in a loud cheer. John could hear Kyle wolf whistle in the throng. The couple was presented with various gifts after the ceremony. The day ended with a wine party. John saw Kyle stumble from side to side, drunk. His words were slurred as he spoke, "Hey, Johnny boy, this is one hell of a party. Congrats, you finally found some…" Then he collapsed, asleep. John rolled his eyes at his brother who was snoring on the ground.

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Arya and John lay together in bed, their bodies intertwined. They were breathing heavily, as John worked, impaling Arya with his spear again and again. Arya moaned in joy as John took it to a whole new level, using his Spartan strength. _'He's been holding out on me.' _Arya realized as they continued throughout the night, unrelenting.

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_This is one hell of a party. (Takes another gulp of vodka). Hey ladies, did I (hiccup) mention I'm single? (Collapses on the ground, asleep)._


	14. New Complications

_Au1h0r's N0t3: Ugh, I am having one hell of a hangover. That was one wicked party last night. Drank about five bottles. This chapter, Eragon is beyond pissed. Let's see what happens, enjoy._

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Eragon's greatest fears have been confirmed. News of Arya's marriage has reached the Varden camp. As he took in this new information, he could feel himself losing all purpose in life. Even Saphira left him alone, knowing that he would be unreasonable in his current state. He could hear the crowd cheer outside as the new married couples enter the camp. _'Lucky them.' _Eragon thought bitterly as he took a swig of wine. He overheard one of the newly arrived marines talking, "I heard the Rider's got a crush on the elf, but when Chief got the girl, he's the one who got crushed!" Eragon took another sip of wine and approached the marines. "Hey, if you got a problem… (belch) why don't you come and say that to my face?"

"Why don't you go back to your hole, you drunk prick!"

Eragon tried to call upon his magic, but he was too stoned to remember any of the spells he knew.

"Oh look, the Rider is trying to use his fancy-ass magic! Better watch out!" They erupted into laughter. While Eragon returned to his seat and continued to drink, Mr. T suddenly appeared beside the marines, "I PITY THE FOOL!" Then he downed a mouthful of wine and passed out.

00000

Arya and John entered the cafeteria, and saw Eragon sleeping on one of the tables next to a few empty bottles. Eragon could feel himself being shaken awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw Arya's beautiful face, "Hey gorgeous, why don't you give me a kiss?" Eragon murmured sleepily. She grabbed him by his hair and viciously slammed his head on the table, knocking him out. As John passed Eragon to get some food, he shook his head in disgust.

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Eragon woke with his head painfully throbbing. As he stood up to leave, a messenger approached him, "Lady Nasuada has a message for you." Then the messenger savagely kicked Eragon in his reproductive organs with iron toed shoes. Eragon fell to the ground with a shrill squeal of pain. "Have a nice day sir." The messenger said as he left. Eragon lay there, crying and clutching his aching testicles.

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Eragon woke on the cafeteria floor; his balls were bruised from the beating they received last night. He could feel Saphira's presence enter his mind. _'Eragon, I'm almost ashamed to call you my rider.'_

_ 'Shut up Saphira, I'm in no mood for your boring speeches.' _Eragon replied sleepily. He then saw John enter the cafeteria. Eragon stumbled towards him. "Let me guess, you got wasted last night, these people have got the greatest wine I've ever tasted." Kyle said with a wide, dopey grin. "Hey, I'm Kyle, John's twin brother, and who are you?"

"My name is Eragon."

"Oh, so you are the drunken Rider that everybody's talking about."

"Ugh," was Eragon's only reply. _'Great, there are two of them.'_ Eragon thought.

As Eragon left, Mr. T appeared out of nowhere, "I PITY THE FOOL!"

"I do too Mr. T, I do too." Kyle replied.

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John saw Eragon stumbling towards him with a bottle of vodka in his hands. "H3y, h0w's l1f3? I h3ard y0u 5cr3wed Arya 0v3r s3ver4L t1m3s! H0w d1D 1t f33l? Huh?" A few people gathered around to see what John would do. He remained as still as a statue, soon enough, Eragon took another swagger of wine and collapsed. John then literally dragged Eragon by his arm and threw him in his tent. Mr. T spawned beside John and screamed at the top of his lungs, "I PITY THE FOOL!"

"Wha… would you get out of here!" John yelled.

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_Ugh, still trying to get over that wicked hangover. Oh well, see you next chapter._


	15. New Enemies

_Author's Note: Okay, so about this chapter, I've decided to throw in new enemies just for the heck of it. ENJOY!_

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Deep within a Forerunner complex, a great and ancient power stirred from its rest. _'After eons of patience and waiting, I finally wake from my slumber and rise again.' _The creature thought. It waved a green, slimy tentacle and then thousands upon thousands of misshapen figures rushed from the darkness with loud shrieks and screeches. _'They will all perish and become one with our power.' _The creature thought with a mental smile.

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An Empire scouting party camped in the dark and damp cave for the night. The magician set the dry wood ablaze with a quick spell. In the corner of his eye, the captain of the group saw something move across the dark cave floor. He rubbed his eyes, _'It's just the firelight.' _He thought tiredly. Just as he closed his eyes, he saw something dart across the cave. The group stood up and drew their swords. All around them, small, greenish creatures were running to and fro. Suddenly, they heard a loud, piercing screech. Dozens of humans with tentacles, disfigured bodies and decayed skin approached them. The mutated humans reeked of rotting flesh. The group looked in horror as one of the small, green globs jumped onto one of their men and transformed him into one of the deformed people in a puddle of brown fluid and puss. Another man screamed as a glob embedded itself into his chest and mutated him into another one of them. They were paralyzed with fear and revulsion. Now, the whole cave smelled like rotting corpses, the captain swung wildly with his sword, not caring if he hit anything. He heard the dying screams of the rest of his men as they were changed by the green blobs. The captain squeezed his eyes shut as he felt one of them dig into his chest and then he felt nothing but coldness.

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"Come on John! When are we going to do something fun? It's so boring out here!" Kyle complained loudly. John was lying under a broken warthog, "Quit whining, we'll go blow something up later, but right now I have to fix this one… last… vehicle."

"You know what your problem is? You don't know how to have fun." Kyle replied.

"Knowing your definition of fun, I'm not sure I want to." John retorted as he picked up a wrench.

John turned to the marine in the driver's seat of the hog, "Alright, try it now." The marine turned the key and the engine rumbled to life. "_Now_, can we go blow something up?" Kyle nagged. John sighed in exasperation, "Fine."

_**Seven**__ minutes later…_

A massive explosion rocked the hillside. "Yeah! Look at that baby go!" Kyle hooted in excitement with the remote detonator in his hands. "Come on! Let's go do it again!" As they ran back to camp to retrieve more explosives, they noticed the entire camp was on alert. Thel and Arya were in full battle armor. "Thel, what's happening?" He only pointed at the sky. As the clouds cleared, they revealed a massive Covenant fleet. "Oh shit." John and Kyle said simultaneously. They reported to the command center in full Mark V Mjolnir armor. A prophet's voice rang out from the communicators, "You will all burn until all that surfaces is glass. We have come to claim this holy relic and purge this place of your ignorance in the Great Journey! Your destruction and humiliation is the will of the gods, and I… I am their instrument!" John shook his head in disbelief, _'Here we go again.'_

"Cocky bastard just loves to run his mouth." Kyle said disdainfully.

"You got that right." John murmured.

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A phantom landed outside the cave and a squad of grunts and brutes jumped out. As they slowly entered the dark, damp cave, they saw a marble white door with forerunner symbols and runes carved into it. "Forward, lousy grunts, for the Great Journey!" The brute shouted. As the door opened, hundreds of flood infection and combat forms leapt from the darkness and overwhelmed the small squad. The grunts' morale dropped, they fled only to be taken down by an army of infection forms. The brute minor screamed in horror as an infection form buried itself into his torso. The brute captain fired his brute shot violently, desperately trying to keep the flood at bay. The transformed flood combat forms spoke indistinctly with a voice that sent shivers down the brute's spine. His shields failed and his armor fell off. A combat form swung his tentacle and the huge brute's head fell off with a spurt of blood.

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_Covenant Separatist assault carrier-_

_Shadow of Intent_

"Shipmaster! We have picked up enemy activity, are we to engage?" An elite reported. Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum sat upon his gravity chair. "Burn them all; leave no traces of their existence. All ships prepare to engage!"

High above the ground, multiple ships fired upon the fleet, a shower of sparks and flaming scrap metal could be seen from the earth. The Covenant Loyalists didn't react in time; their fleet was quickly destroyed as plasma torpedoes ripped through their hulls. Hundreds of escape pods could be seen dropping down. In the command center of the Varden camp, a new transmission was broadcasting, "This is shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum to all ships, well done. That's the **seventh** Loyalist fleet we've obliterated. Deploy ground units to clean up the remains of their forces."

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The Empire's army gathered when they saw thousands of deformed figures approaching for an attack. As they charged each other, many of the Empire's soldiers were quickly dispatched and transformed by the small infection forms. The morale of the soldiers was quickly reduced to nothing as they watched their comrades mutate into gross-looking combat forms. Many of them fled, leaving only a few squads of brave soldiers to defend themselves. But bravery only got them so far as they were cut down by the combat forms and their bloody corpses were changed. The fight was no longer a fight, it was a massacre, and fleeing soldiers were killed and turned into flood. The ground was wet with greenish-brown fluid and blood.

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"OPEN FIRE!" The Varden soldiers mowed down the incoming horde of walking corpses. The machine gun turrets did well at keeping them at bay. John opened up with both of his SMGs, his bullets tearing through rotten and decayed flesh as if it was paper. Now, both of John's nightmares of his past have returned to greet him. He unloaded the rest of his SMGs' clip into a flood brute combat form at point blank range, brown fluid spewing everywhere. He attached his empty SMGs onto his thigh armor then equipped his shotgun and began to blast away at any flood he could see. Arya and Kyle were back-to-back fending off the horde with their melee weapons. Every time a flood combat or infection form was cut down, it would send a gush of greenish-brown liquid flying in all directions. Kyle went for their tentacles since that was their only weapon aside from a few various weapons from every faction. Thel was a frenzy of flying energy swords and appendages as he cut down any flood that was stupid enough to stand in his way. The flood infection forms represented the greatest threat since they were the smallest and most numerous. Within a few hours, it was over, the Varden won. Decomposing corpses of the flood littered the battlefield. Even the crows and vultures were afraid to feast upon their flesh. "What are these monsters?" Arya asked.

"They're called flood, they are a parasite that feeds on sentient life and transforms them into… combat forms. The small ones are called infection forms." John replied. "It is likely there is a Gravemind controlling them; otherwise they wouldn't be so organized."

"What is a Gravemind?"

"When flood consume enough biomass and knowledge, they develop into a smart being which controls the lesser flood." Thel answered.

A few Separatist dropships deployed their forces near the Varden encampment. John, Arya, Thel, and Kyle approached to meet with them. "Thel, is that you?" Thel grinned as he saw his old friend Half-Jaws. "Rtas! It is good to see you after so much time." Rtas noticed John, "Good to see you again too, demon."

"Maybe we should continue this conversation in the command tent." John replied.

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The group gathered in the tent with Nasuada. "The outbreak must be contained; we must resort to glassing." Rtas said quietly. "But the problem is… where did they come from?"

"We picked up a transmission from the fleet before you destroyed it; the prophet said something about a 'holy relic.' It must be a forerunner facility, if any flood were there, they would have a lot of time to build up their strength for an attack without us even knowing." John replied. Rtas nodded in agreement, "We will start from there."

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The Prophet of Redemption floated into the city known as Uru'baen on his gravity throne with his **seven** brute bodyguards wielding gravity hammers and invincibility shielding surrounding him. The king has agreed to meet with him to discuss the terms of their alliance. As they walked into the king's grand chambers Galbatorix greeted them, "Welcome, I've been expecting you."

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The Gravemind fumed in silence. A long lost reclaimer has returned and obliterated half of his army. _'Time has taught me patience; this defeat is only a small delay in what is sure to come.'_ The Gravemind thought to itself as he turned on the forerunner cloning machine.

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John found Saphira in the dragon keep. "How's Eragon doing?" She shook her head forlornly, _'He seems to be getting worse.'_

"Has he been talking to anyone else?"

_'He's talking to Roran now.'_

John nodded and proceeded to find him. _'Wait.' _ John stopped and turned around. _'When you see him, kick his ass for me.' _John smiled. When he found Eragon, Roran was pinning him to the ground. When Roran saw John coming he yelled, "How about some help here?" John grabbed Eragon's tunic and lifted him into the air. "What do you think you're doing?" John yelled in his face, "Do you think drinking is going to solve any problems?" Eragon was not listening, "Fuck off, you're not my dad." John threw him into a pile of hay. Eragon suddenly remembered one of the words of death that Oromis had taught him. He raised his palm and shouted the incantation; he felt the spell drain his strength as he released it.

_00000_

_Here serves as a cliffhanger, how's that for a longer chapter, huh? So, we've got a lot going on, anyways, I will not tell you what's going to happen next. See you next chapter, PEACE OUT!_


	16. To Hell and Back

_Author's Note: Right, John's dead and… (John bursts into the room) _"You don't pay me enough for me to die!" _Fool, get the hell out of my room or so help me I will cut your insurance! (John pulls out a pistol) _"Rewrite the story so I don't die!" _(I pull out a rocket launcher). Don't worry; you won't die permanently, unless you get the fuck out of my room right now. (John storms out of the room). It's so hard to find help that doesn't try to kill you these days. Enjoy._

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As Eragon shouted the words John collapsed, lifeless. Roran stared in horror, "Eragon, what did you do? …You're not my cousin; you're not the man I've known almost all my life." Eragon didn't listen; he was busy realizing his grave mistake through all the alcohol.

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Arya was talking to Thel about how an energy sword worked when Roran sprinted towards them, "It's John, he's dead, Eragon killed him with magic!" Arya dropped the energy sword she was holding while Thel rushed to get a defibrillator. "When did this happen?" Arya asked.

"It happened about a minute ago, your friend better hurry."

Thel was hefting a heavy defibrillator, "Let's go, where is he?"

"Right by the stables, but he's dead, you can't do anything about it…" Roran replied.

"Watch me." Thel growled menacingly.

Thel pulled out the two shock paddles and placed them against John's torso, "CLEAR!" John's body jolted, but that was all it did. Thel growled with determination as he placed the paddles on John's chest, "CLEAR!" The body remained lifeless. Suddenly, Eragon walked in with a smirk on his face. "You can't save him; looks like my magic did its job well." Arya walked towards him and slapped him across his face. The loud _smack_ cued the silence that followed. Eragon was rubbing the red hand print on his face as he walked away. "CLEAR!" Nothing happened. Arya knelt beside John as Thel put away the shock paddles. "There's nothing we can do, he's gone." She knelt there and wept silently while Thel patted her back as a gesture of comfort. Arya grit her teeth and yelled, "John! Come back dammit! Come on soldier, come back to me! John, I love you, come back to me!" Thel walked away, seeing that Arya needed time alone. She lied next to John as she whispered his name over and over again.

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John could hear Arya whispering to him, but he couldn't talk, he couldn't move, and so he could not comfort her. As she held his hand, he could not close his fingers to hold hers. They both cried there for the rest of the night. As dawn approached, her whispers became inaudible. Suddenly, Thel approached them with a syringe. Arya looked up to see the gigantic needle. "Behold, the wonders of medical science." He held up the needle that was filled with strange blue liquid. "It's reversed engineered forerunner technology. It has the ability to bring back the dead; I found it in the Dawn's wreckage." Thel injected the fluid into John's bloodstream; Arya could hear his heart pumping faintly.

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In the infirmary, John stirred from his sleep. Arya, Thel, and Kyle were watching him. Kyle grinned when he saw John open his eyes. "Well, well, well, he's alive! The stubborn bastard just doesn't know how to die!" Arya leaned forward and planted a solid kiss on John's lips, "Don't ever leave me like that again." She growled. John only smiled and returned the kiss. Thel ushered Kyle out, seeing that they wanted time alone.

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"Eragon! What were you thinking? You are charged with unprovoked attack of fellow soldiers, one casualty of a Varden…" Nasuada rattled on. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Eragon took another drink from his bottle of vodka, "I dunno… but this stuff is great."

Nasuada sighed and motioned for her guards to take him away. As her guards dragged away the drunk, she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. _'I need a drink.'_

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Explosions lit up the night as Covenant wraiths fired upon the Varden camp. Soldiers rushed from their barracks and readied themselves for the fight. Separatist ships landed and deployed troops to aid the Varden army. John donned his armor and grabbed his trusty assault rifle.

On the horizon, hundreds of brutes, grunts, jackals, and Empire soldiers lined up for an attack. As the Varden prepared their troops, ghosts advanced and burned down any Varden or Separatists in firing range. All this brought back memories from both John's and Thel's past. The Covenant invaded the camp, all around the site, weapons were being fired and the Varden troops were being bombarded by Covenant wraiths. Hunters stood out from the throng of brutes, their pulsating fuel rod cannons unleashed a torrent of searing plasma at any Varden they could see. John ran at the hunters with his assault rifle ablaze. The two massive creatures turtled behind their shields. When John ran out of ammo, he pulled out two combat knives.

John ducked under one of the hunters' shield as he swung it. When he saw the creature's exposed back, the hunter spun around with surprising agility and smashed John with its huge shield. He flew back as the force of the blow drove the wind from his lungs. The other hunter trained its cannon straight at John. He waited for the searing heat, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw Kyle on the hunter's back, slashing at its exposed midsection with his machete. John got to his feet and pulled out another knife. The two titans came together again in a flurry of punches, slashes and kicks. As they exchanged blows, they sought an opening in each other's defenses. As John stumbled on a corpse, the huge hunter brought its shield down like a hammer. Just as the hunter was about to crush the Spartan, John brought up his hands to protect himself, then neon sapphire beams of light burst from his hands, the intense heat turned the huge hunter into molten glass. John peeked out of one eye to see the hunter's melted shield hovering within inches of his breastplate. He stared at his hands in wonder, _'What the hell?'_ Kyle saw what happened, "Hey bro, that was badass, can you teach me how you do that?" John shook his head, still staring at his hands. "I don't know how I did that."

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Arya unloaded the last of her pistol ammo into a brute chieftain's brain as Thel gunned down another brute with his plasma repeater. More Covenant were on the way, the second wave of infantry was rushing towards the camp. Suddenly there was a deafening _BOOM_, dozens of Covenant troops were turned into bloody bits and pieces by the devastating explosion.

Thel and Arya saw the smoking barrel of a scorpion tank as it fired another blast, shredding the Covenant infantry into scraps of bloody meat and armor. Kyle was in the gunner's seat, mowing down any brutes he could see. Marines were riding on the armored treads of the huge vehicle, adding to the bloody mayhem as they shot up any Covenant forces senseless enough to stand in their way. John grinned as he fired another round into a group of brutes, blowing them into gory severed body parts. A brute screamed as he was crushed under the heavy treads of the fearsome vehicle. "How does the bumper taste asshole?" Kyle shouted while laughing hysterically. John groaned, "It'll take days to clean out all the brute bits from the treads."

"But it's so freaking worth it!" Kyle said as he mulched another brute with the machine gun turret. "You're right." John said with a smile as he blasted an enemy ghost into oblivion.

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Eragon sat in the cafeteria drinking from his bottle, oblivious to the surrounding fight. A Varden soldier's mutilated head landed on his table, "I don't have any spare change, go away." Eragon slurred as he pushed the bloody head off the table and continued to drink.

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The Covenant and Empire soldiers retreated after UNSC reinforcements arrived. Dozens of scorpion tanks and marines were dropped off by pelicans. After the fight, John stared at his hands, _'I couldn't do that before…' _The incident left John trying to do it again. He held out his palms and concentrated. Nothing happened; John sighed in exhaustion as he removed his armor and reported to his tent only to find Arya waiting for him in his bed with a devilish smile on her face… (_You know what happens next, no need to repeat myself over and over again.) _"OH JOHN! OOHHHHH YES, OH YES, YES, OOOHHHH!" _(Oops)._

The next day was busy, the UNSC and the Separatists have agreed to send supplies, troops, and vehicles to the Varden to help defeat the Empire, Covenant, and the Flood. Technicians helped train the Varden on how to operate vehicles. And the camp was no longer consisted of tents; the UNSC donated a lot of concrete and spare materials, enough to make adequate fortifications and replace tents with concrete barracks and bunkers. _'There's no way we can lose this war.' _John thought as he saw the primitive army with swords, pikes, and bows transform into the army with guns, war vehicles, and heavy artillery. _'There is absolutely no way we can lose this war.' _ He thought again as more pelicans arrived to drop off more supplies.

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The Prophet of Redemption was arguing with Galbatorix about their recent defeat. "I don't understand it! You promised us victory, but instead we are defeated!" The King shouted in fury. "I was unaware of the demons that resided there. One is enough to defeat an entire army, they have _two_. It was an impossible fight." Redemption retorted. "Then what do you expect us to do, surrender?"

"No," was the prophet's calm answer. "I have in my possession, a great weapon of mass destruction, a weapon that will wipe out our enemies in one fell swoop." The prophet smiled as he pressed a button on his gravity throne. As the king looked upon Redemption's great weapon he grinned in excitement, "Oh yes, this will do very nicely."

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_Yes, another cliffhanger. So, yeah, blah, blah, blah, see you next time._


	17. Weapons of Destruction

_From here on out, I'm not putting "Author's Note" at the beginning of every story, it's tedious and nobody's going to read it anyway. Okay, about this chapter, find out what secret weapon Redemption has up his sleeve._

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Thel and Arya were playing chess while John and Kyle were talking in the cafeteria. "Checkmate." Arya stated. Thel's jaws dropped open as Arya won for the **seventh **time. "I declare a rematch!" Thel growled. Arya only smiled as they reset their pieces, "Oh, come on, it's just a game." Thel only stared at the chessboard with intense concentration and made his first move.

"Hey, you know that new girl that came with the reinforcements, Lieutenant Argent?" Kyle asked. John rolled his eyes, "Don't Kyle, I'm warning you."

"Aw come on, you got a girl, and I'm not complaining about it." Kyle retorted. "Besides, it's she that's into me, not the other way around." John sighed in exasperation, "Alright, fine. But don't come crying to me when it doesn't work out." "You mean _if _it doesn't work out, right?" John sighed again, "Yeah, right."

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In the courtyard of Galbatorix's castle stood **seven **massive brutes wearing silver forerunner armor. "These Jiralhanae have received the same, if not greater enhancements as the demons. They cannot fail." Redemption boasted. Each brute was armed with two spikers, a brute shot, and a gravity hammer. The king was still skeptical, "But how can seven warriors defeat an army of hundreds of thousands?" The prophet glared at the king, "One demon can defeat an army of hundreds, think of what seven can do. You are free to send your soldiers to accompany them, and so shall I." Then they both nodded in agreement.

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"I can't believe they made a video game out of us." John growled as he and Thel played Halo 3. "But you have to admit, it is still quite fun even though it's not very accurately based on what we did." Then a flood combat form killed John, "Shit! Legendary on the Cortana level is just bullshit." Respawn in 5… 4… 3… 2… Then another combat form killed Thel, Game Over. "Goddammit!" Thel and John cried at the same time. "John, Thel, Arya, and Kyle, report to the command center immediately!" Nasuada's voice rang out from the loudspeakers.

When John and Thel arrived, Arya and Kyle were already waiting for them. As soon as Nasuada acknowledged their presence she began to speak, "There is an abnormal horde of Empire and Covenant troops heading this way, I want you to take a squad of elites to eliminate them before they get here and do any damage. Also, this time Eragon will be joining you." The four simultaneously shouted, "WHAT?" As if cued, the man himself walked in with full battle armor. "Look who came fresh out of rehab." Kyle muttered. "Now, I understand your past experiences with Eragon have not always been pleasant, but you will maintain your reason and try not to kill each other." Nasuada ordered. "Were it so easy." Thel murmured. "You have your orders, move out!"

The squad included **seven **elites not including Thel. The group marched for hours until they came upon their target. There were dozens of honor guards, a brute chieftain, Empire soldiers, and **seven **huge brutes that made hunters look like dwarves. "Those aren't ordinary brutes, and their armor is different too." Kyle muttered silently. "They don't know we're here. Engage active camouflage and pick them off." John ordered.

The group opened fire. Many of the honor guards and soldiers fell before their suppressive fire and Eragon's magic, but the brutes however, stayed standing. As the group ran out of ammo, they rushed forward to engage in a close ranged skirmish. Shotguns could be heard shredding the enemy into mush. The colossal brutes pulled out their gravity hammers and started hammering away at anybody they could see, including their allies. The soldiers didn't put up much resistance, but the brutes were undefeatable. Their armor repelled all attacks, and they moved with lightning speed. Four elites were killed and the rest were injured fatally. John and the rest of the group engaged in a hopeless fight. John pounded one of the giant repeatedly, but the brute showed no signs of weakening or tiring as it raised its larger-than-normal gravity hammer and brought it down with enough force to crush a tank. John went flying as the shockwave hit him. Eragon rode on Saphira fighting with his magic, his dragon, and his sword. While that was happening, Thel was busy fending off two at once with his dual energy swords. He had scored multiple hits on the hulking figures but they paid no attention to their wounds as they continued to fight.

"What are these things?" Arya yelled as she blocked another swing from one of the giants. "I don't know, but they sure like to play hardball." Kyle answered as he emptied the rest of his shotgun shells into one of them. Saphira wasn't doing so well, she had to fend off three at once. The bladed gravity hammers sliced through her scales and into her flesh while her claws, teeth, and fire didn't even scratch their tough armor. Eragon whispered a spell of death as one of the brutes bore down on him. As the huge beast collapsed, Eragon was surprised at the amount of strength used to kill one of them; he was so close to collapsing from exhaustion. Meanwhile John and Kyle worked together to bring down one of the huge brutes. Kyle lifted John from the ground and threw him at the massive beast. As John collided with the brute, he could feel the giant fall backwards. John and Kyle both pounded on the brute's face as it lay on the ground, dazed. The giant's helmet crumpled into useless scraps and its skull caved in from the devastating attack. In the meantime, Thel and Arya tried desperately to keep the oversized brutes at bay. Thel smiled as he pulled out his custom sawn-off double barrel shotgun and blasted one of the brutes with both barrels at point blank range in the face. The force of the blast took the beast's head clean off in a shower of crushed skull and brain matter. Thel then blew out the smoke from the bloody barrel of the weapon and proceeded to help the rest of his friends.

While that happened, Arya dueled with one of the beasts with her pistol and sword. Her weapons did nothing against their tough armor while the gravity hammer left a series of dents and scratches on her armor. She mainly attacked to keep the brute on the defensive. Suddenly, the colossal brute pinned her sword to the ground and sent Arya flying back with a kick to the chest. Lying on the blood-stained ground, Arya saw the brute lift his enormous hammer for the finishing blow. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the brute make the downward swing. Arya waited for the crushing pressure, but it never came. She peeked out of one eye to see John pushing against the heavy gravity hammer. John and the beast were locked in an epic struggle as they both pressed against each other. The brute smiled as he pulled out his spiker and slashed at the Spartan. John could taste blood in his mouth as the spiker blade slammed across his helmet and brought him to the ground. The gigantic brute placed his half-ton boot on John's chest and pressed downward with all its strength and weight. He yelled in pain as he felt the overwhelming pressure on his torso press him into the ground. John yelled again as he heard a few of his near-indestructible ribs snap under the intense pressure. Desperately, he brought his hands up and suddenly, bright, neon-sapphire beams of light burst from John's palms and melted the brute in its armor and turned it into a statue made of molten glass and ashes.

Seeing half of their brethren killed, the remaining brutes retreated from the fight. A battered and bloody Kyle spoke into his COMM, "Spartan 214 to orbiting frigate, requesting air strike to these coordinates, fast." A few minutes later, a longsword fighter swooped down and bombarded the brutes with a barrage of tactical explosives, a split second later, there was a deafening explosion followed by a devastating shockwave. After the smoke and debris cleared, the group could see that all that remained of the brutes was a black and smoking crater.

John could feel himself being lifted from the ground. He hacked up a glob of blood that spattered the inside of his helmet while Thel supported most of John's weight as they slowly traveled back to base.

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_I am a dishonest person, dear readers. I will break a promise to you, and if you don't know what I'm talking about here's a hint: What do you get when you cross an elf with a Spartan?_


	18. Broken Promise

_Hello readers, yes I am breaking that promise in this chapter. Enough spoiling, time to get the game on._

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With bandages wrapped around his torso, John lied on a cot in the medical wing. He could remember the massive boot crushing him. _'So that's how a cockroach feels…" _John thought miserably. Suddenly Cortana's image blocked out his vision and he could hear the heart monitor pinging KIA. _'You have been called upon to serve.' _John shook his head; a waypoint had been placed on the doorway even though he didn't have his helmet on. His HUD flashed and flickered before his eyes while he climbed painfully out of his cot and out of his room, his chest pounding. As he reached the ghosted waypoint, another one appeared on the entrance to the building. All the while, visions of Cortana flashed vividly.

He fell in and out of consciousness as the pain was too much to ignore, but the drive to reach the blue arrow kept him going. As he stretched out his hand towards the waypoint in a final attempt, the arrow faded and disappeared altogether. Suddenly, an excruciating wave of pain shot up his entire body, not just his chest. John screamed in agony as another surge of demanding soreness attacked him. His cries became shriller until the grating screaming sounded inhuman. He felt as if he was receiving his augmentations ten times at once. In his peripheral vision, he saw nurses rush to his aid. The pain became no more as his world faded into darkness.

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When John opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. The bandages on his chest were gone, as he pushed himself off the uncomfortable cot and made his way to the armory. Everything seemed normal aside from the fact that John's sight was sharper and he could hear conversation from all around the base. As he pieced together his armor, he went to check out the sparring arena which had been transformed and remodeled into the training course, sparring ring, and full gymnasium. There, he saw Arya and Thel fighting in the ring.

Thel raised his fists to pound on Arya's defenses. As the incoming blows were struck, the elf retaliated with a punch to the alien's stomach and a kick in the shoulder. Thel stumbled back as Arya threw blow after blow. As Arya made the final kick to the face, Thel fell on his back. Suddenly, a wave of nausea overcame Arya as she was brought to her knees. Arya ripped off her helmet and vomited on the sandy ground. John rushed to help his wife, when he reached her; Arya was wiping the last of her lunch off her lips. Thel looked in surprise as the Spartan closed the distance between them faster than he could blink. John scooped up Arya in his arms and carried her back to the medical wing.

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"Seriously John, I'm fine. Really." Arya said for the **seventh **time. "I'm not letting you go before the medics say you're good to go. You look horrible." Indeed, there were bags under Arya's eyes, she looked thinner than usual and her skin was a shade of pale gray. The doctor entered the room in a white hospital uniform. He asked a series of questions like "Have you been getting enough sleep?" and "Are you eating enough?" He wrote down Arya's answers, and then he asked his final question, "Have you engaged in any sexual activity?" Arya blushed a deep red then answered, "Yes." He jot down a few more words on his data pad. "There is a major possibility that you have a child on the way, but I need a urine test to confirm it." Arya sunk in her chair as she let the words sink in.

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John couldn't believe it; he was going to be a father. _'A battlefield is no place to raise a child.' _He went to the gym to calm himself down. John raised his fists in a boxing position and proceeded to beat on a sandbag. Each strike was more violent than the next, until he reached the point where he punched through the bag and watched the sand flow smoothly onto the floor. The other marines were beginning to stare as John threw another powerful punch that launched the heavy sandbag across the gym and smashed against the wall, leaving a large crack.

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The doctor examined the test results as Arya sat in the other room, filled with anxiety. The elf jumped when he entered the room, "The test result is _**positive**_. Congratulations, you are going to be a mother." Arya's hand flew to her stomach as soon as she heard the words spill from his mouth. Arya walked out of the hospital wing with her hand still attached to her stomach area.

_'Calm down John, calm down.'_ He thought over and over again to quiet his raging anxiety. But it was no use; his thoughts always came back to the term _'Father.' _John gripped the sink of the bathroom and stared into the mirror, he gasped in surprise, his eyes were a bright, neon blue than the usual brown. _'What the hell?'_ Pieces of the bathroom sink broke in his hands as he gripped it until his knuckles were white. _'I'm not ready for this, and I never will be.'_

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_'Our enemies grow stronger, and so we must strike before they become more so. We, the flood, will consume the galaxy of flesh and mind and __**bone**__!' _The Gravemind thought as he set out hundreds of thousands of mutated and deformed figures which ran screeching their horrible war cries.

In the distance, battle horns were sounding. The flood had mounted another attack, but this time, they had brought an army well over **seven **times the last one. The Varden army set up defense turrets and snipers formed up on the base's outer wall.


	19. Rage and Fury

_Okay readers, things in here are about to get a little gory. So get those vomit bags on hand and ready to use cuz you're in for a wild ride. Oh, and I won't be putting my seven references in bold anymore._

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Kyle let out a feral war cry as he hacked up a pure form with his energy machete while Three Doors Down was blaring in his helmet. John blasted a combat form into pieces of yellow gore with an old SPAS-12 shotgun. A pelican roared overhead and released tactical explosives and a hail of plasma rounds into the horde, literally tearing the flood into nothing but flying scraps. Saphira and Eragon were slashing away at the oncoming deformed figures. Somewhere in all this, seven flood juggernauts joined the raging fight. To tell the truth, the marines were enjoying this, John could hear one laugh maniacally as he mowed down a mass of flood with a blood-covered machine gun turret. Gore spurted and sprayed in all directions as the flood of mutant parasites continued to lay siege to the fortified base.

John cried out in agony as a powerful blow from a flood juggernaut's tentacle sent him across the battlefield. He landed on his back, hard. The massive monster landed beside the Spartan with a loud crash. As John propped himself up on his elbows, he felt pain explode all across his back and torso area. He looked down to see a long tentacle tipped with a razor-like blade protruding from his chest. He was lifted up from the ground and raised to face the huge, ugly motherfker. The flood form gurgled in victory as it raised another tentacle to pierce it through John's heart. Just then, something inside John's brain snapped. He lost all control of his rage and self-control as he ripped apart the limb into pieces with his bare hands. Growling like a feral animal, he tore the bladed appendage from his chest with an inhuman roar. His mind blazed with raging anger, and uncontrollable thoughts of bloody revenge. He didn't even notice that the hole in his torso closed almost immediately with new tissue and skin. Screaming like a savage beast, he leapt onto the flood monster and punched into the giant's armored flesh. All the while, John was screaming while digging deeper and deeper with his… claws? The huge flood form squealed in agony as the small Spartan continued to claw and punch his way into the flood form. It smelled heavily like rotting corpses and flesh inside the huge beast, but John didn't notice. His only intent was to make this damned creature suffer as much as possible. The Spartan yelled in victory as he burst out the other side of the massive beast in an eruption of yellow fluid and puss.

John's helmet was removed while all of this happened. His eyes were blazing crimson red. John looked out over the intestine, severed limbs, and blood strewn battlefield. '_They must all suffer, they will all pay…' _The crazed Spartan laughed crazily as he rushed the enemy. He threw away precautions and safety measures as he tore through the flood by the hundreds. Bodies flew in all directions like ragdolls as John punched and kicked his way through the small combat forms and pure forms. John didn't even notice that he was far behind enemy lines. Fueled by his anger and wrath, he abandoned all strategy and combat techniques and started to flail wildly and violently, not caring if he hit anything.

As Kyle and Thel cut down a tank form together, they saw John in his state of frenzy. Kyle caught a glimpse of his crazed look in his bright ruby eyes. "What's with your brother, Kyle?" He slowly shook his head, "Maybe he's finally lost it."

John ripped off a Juggernaut's bladed tentacle and stabbed the creature to death with it in a wild shower of chunks of rotting and decaying flesh. Using the limb as a weapon, the Spartan gave an experimental swing and slashed a tank form clean in half. He grinned wildly with his newfound mace and proceeded to cut down every flood he could see. Severed and mutilated body parts were shooting everywhere. John threw the juggernaut tentacle like a spear and it pierced and exited another Juggernaut in a violent spray of red and sickening green unknown fluid.

The Spartan was still in his demented condition when the fight was over, as soon as he saw Eragon walk towards him, John flew towards him and slammed him to the ground with a wild growl. "AAHH, get off of me! What's wrong with you?" Eragon looked up into John's crimson eyes, filled with bloodlust. Just as the Spartan pulled his fist back to smash Eragon's face in, Kyle pulled the bloodthirsty John off of him and pinned him to the ground. Kyle saw John's wild crimson eyes fade into tranquil neon blue. As he felt his brother relax, he loosened his hold on him. "You alright?" Kyle asked hesitantly. John shook his head as he lurched and vomited all of his lunch all over the ground. "Shit."

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"There is something wrong with me, Kyle. I didn't go crazy in the battlefield, that wasn't _me_." John muttered solemnly. His brother sighed, "Look, we all have our stressful moments, so this is nor…" John suddenly growled, "This is not normal; don't tell me this is normal. What happened today was _far_ from normal." "What do you want from me, to say that you screwed up?" Kyle snapped, "Fine. John, you royally fucked up." John closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. Maybe I just need some rest." Kyle's expression lightened, "Yeah it _has_ been a long day. Go get some sleep, that's an order."

Arya sat in her barracks patting her distended belly softly while John entered the room. "John! You're back, so how'd it go?" He shook his head forlornly, "Something happened to me out there, I don't know what happened to me, I just got so mad… and…" Arya noticed something different about her husband, "John, why are your eyes… blue?"

"I have no idea, this all started ever since…"

"Ever since what?"

John gasped, "Arya, how did Thel bring me back to life after Eragon killed me?" Arya looked puzzled, "He gave you a shot, said it was reverse engineered forerunner tech. John, what's wrong?" John's eyes widened in realization, "Of course… that's what gave me my powers and my enhanced abilities." Arya shook her head, "John, what are you talking about?"

John sighed in exhaustion, "Never mind, I'm bushed. I have to get some sleep, or tomorrow will kill me."

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John was in what looked like a forerunner temple with seven forerunner warriors facing him, "You must go, Reclaimer. We will hold back the parasite until you make your escape." John shook his head, "No, I can't just leave you behind; I will not have you sacrifice your lives for mine." They all turned their heads when they heard a loud screech emanating from down the dark hallway. The warriors activated what looked like energy swords and rushed into the darkness. John ran, he ran like all hell was on his heels, maybe it was. He pitched forward and hit the ground as a flood infection form leapt on his back. John screamed as it dug into his chest. He pulled out his energy dagger and stabbed himself in the torso, killing himself and the infection form.

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"AAHHHH!" John felt himself being shaken from his nightmare. Arya was over him with her hands on his shoulders. He was panting heavily and covered in sweat. _'Just a nightmare, just a nightmare, just a nightmare…' _Arya wrapped his arms around John in a comforting hug while he returned the favor. Then they fell into a dreamless sleep in each other's embrace.

_Next morning…_

"Kyle, Thel, I need you two to make me mad." The elite and the Spartan stood frozen in shock. Kyle spoke first, "I thought you didn't want what happened yesterday to happen again." "That's the point of this whole exercise; I need to control my power so I don't hurt anybody next time I go off." Kyle huddled with Thel for a moment, when they faced John again, they both said simultaneously, "NO." John growled, "Look, would you rather wait for the next time I go off and hurt UNSC personnel or you can help me to avoid a situation like that." Kyle thought over this for a second, "Fine we'll help you." Thel looked surprised, "We will? Er… yeah we will help you." John breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, now let's get started."

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_Okay fine, so this chapter wasn't all that, hope you enjoyed it anyway. See you next time, peace out._


	20. Means of Control

_Okay, so the last chapter wasn't as great as you hoped, but there will be the badassness mentioned in earlier chapters in this one. So yeah, enjoy._

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"Uh, your mom's so fat that… uh… she can't support her own weight." Thel tried unsuccessfully. Kyle shook his head, "Dude, that was pitiful, you've never told a "your mom" joke?" Thel shook his head. "Okay, let me try… John, Arya is cheating on you. You know that, she is probably cheating on you right now and you don't even know it. You think she loves you? Well think again!" John blushed in fury, "Now that was just uncalled for." Kyle smiled, "It worked, didn't it?" "But I'm not mad _enough_." Kyle was deep in thought, "What happened last time you lost it?" "I was stabbed through the chest." John winced at the memory. "Great, now all we have to do is stab you with something." John shook his head at his goofy brother. "Maybe we have to recreate a moment of intense pain." Thel cut in. They both turned their heads toward him, "That could work…" John murmured.

"Alright, hit it." John was tied to an electric bed, the one used to torture POVs. "AAAHHHHH!" A wave of agony swept through his entire body as the electricity coursed through his flesh. Through all the pain, he could feel the anger rising in him. Kyle and Thel could see his eyes darken from an aquatic blue to a shade of crimson. John ripped through his bindings with his eyes violent red. A loud roar ripped through the Spartan's lips. "Whoa John, calm down. It's me, Kyle." John's ruby eyes widened in puzzlement and confusion, then he relaxed and his eyes brightened back to the usual blue. "Alright, so my pain triggers this… so how did I melt that brute and that hunter?" "Both times, you were being crushed or were about to be crushed. So maybe you have to experience fear." Thel reasoned. "Only one problem…" John took a deep breath. "How do we recreate that?" Thel shrugged. They both turned to Kyle as he cleared his throat. "I… might have the answer to that… theoretically."

Kyle led the group to the middle of a small clearing. "So what exactly are we doing here?" Kyle turned to look at them, "He should arrive any moment now." "Who exactly?" As if cued, a large dragon with shimmering blue scales arrived with a person riding on her back. "What's he doing here?" John cried. "What is a suitable substitution to fear? Anger. And it seems like Eragon annoys you the most." The Rider cast him a stony glare. "Now where's my money?" Kyle rolled his eyes and reluctantly placed fifty dollars and a few golden coins into Eragon's waiting hand. The Rider turned to face the massive Spartan towering over him with Saphira standing by him. Eragon smiled and spat a barrage of the meanest insults he could muster. John clenched his fists as Eragon continued to insult his parents and his life. He didn't notice that his fists were pulsating with a bright blue light. "Uh, Eragon, you might want to step away, I mean _right now_." Kyle warned. But the Rider kept going now insulting Arya. John's fists glowed brighter until he raised his palms to a tree and with an explosion of blue light and intense heat; the tree was blasted into nothing but smoking ashes. As soon as the smoke cleared, John fell to all fours panting in exhaustion.

"That could come in handy…" John mused as he stared at his hands in wonder. He grinned as he got to his feet and channeled his angry thoughts into a beam of searing heat that blew another tree into smoldering splinters. "Awesome." Kyle muttered.

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Arya chewed her nails, a habit that she picked up lately. She was worried, about her future with John, and their child. She lay on the comfortable bed; Arya rubbed her enlarged belly, its size doubled since yesterday. The doctors predict that the fetus is developing twenty times faster than a human's which means the child will be ready for delivery in a week's time. _'How will we raise a child in a middle of a war?' _Arya sighed, only time will tell.

In the sparring arena, John was fighting Kyle. "You may have crazy awesome powers, but your still gonna lose this fight brother!" They both charged at each other, both of them collided in a flurry of punches, kicks, and actions too fast for the human eye to follow. The two Spartans blurred together in flashes of cobalt and dark green as they exchanged lightning fast blows and close dodges. In the midst of all the chaos, John managed to slip past his brother's defense and score a powerful punch to his face. As Kyle faltered, John took the advantage to grab his brother's neck and floor him, leaving a small crater in the ground. The Spartan in cobalt armor retaliated by using both of his feet to deliver a kick square in John's chest, launching him across the arena to smash against the concrete wall.

As the two forces of nature prepared to clash again, John saw something out of his peripheral vision. Out of instinct, he tilted his head back a few centimeters to see a large arrow fly millimeters away from hitting his helmet. While the arrow was still in the air, John caught it and hurled it back to the shooter, piercing his right leg. With a cry of pain, the shooter fell out of the tree he was perched in. Varden soldiers rushed to apprehend the assassin, but it was too late, he had already stabbed himself in the heart with his dagger.

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In the base's command center, Rtas Vadum discussed battle strategies with Nasuada. "We can just glass them; the Separatists and the UNSC have already allowed the use of orbital bombardment." Nasuada glared at him, "Where is the honor in that?" Rtas slammed his fist into the holo-projector, "Will you have more of your soldiers die because of your _honor_? What will you tell the weeping mothers and widows? That you failed to ensure their child's or husband's safe return because of your _honor_? These men have lives; they are not just pawns in your chess game." Nasuada was stricken by Rtas' small speech. "We all hate war, it is horrible, and we have a way to end it. It's your choice, choose well."

"… No."

Rtas let out an exasperated sigh, "Very well, we will call upon our armies to purge their corruption."

In the next few days, hundreds of vehicles, troops, and dropships gathered for the assault of Uru'baen. Our six heroes gathered at the front entrance to say their final goodbyes. John bent down and pressed his lips against Arya's in a passionate kiss. "You come back to me John, if I see you anywhere near death; I will personally come and kick you out of it." The Spartan smiled as they shared another kiss. "I will come back, **I promise**."

Thel stood on a cliff staring out into the horizon. He noticed John coming to join him. "I wonder whatever happened to your construct." John looked puzzled, "What construct?"

"You know, Cortana, your AI."

_'Holy shit.'_ John had forgotten all about his artificial intelligence when he threw away his old armor. She is probably sitting in his helmet somewhere in a junkyard. "Uh, I'll be right back." John rushed towards the garbage disposal unit. Thankfully, the army personnel were too busy or lazy to dispose of the trash due to all the fighting. Reluctantly, John jumped into the pile of broken armor, malfunctioning equipment, and plastic wrappers. After a few hours of rummaging through the junk, he got a hold of his old helmet and pulled out the data chip from the back. The small containment unit pulsated with an angry and violent white. Preparing for the onslaught, John inserted the data chip into his new helmet.

"JUST WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING SPARTAN?" Cortana literally screamed at the top of her highest volume. "AFTER ALL THE TIMES I SAVED YOUR SORRY ASS, THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?" She then proceeded to dig into John's memories, reviewing everything she had missed. "Wait, the flood are here?" John clambered out of the small trash pit while Cortana continued to examine his memories. She mentally flinched when she saw Arya's bloated belly. "You lucky dog." She muttered to herself while flipping through the Spartan's recollection.

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_WHEW finally another chapter done. So, sorry about cutting Cortana out for the most part. Looks like I just have no 'scenes' for her to be in until now. So, yeah, see you next chapter. _


	21. The Final Battle

_So… this will be the final chapter of John and the Dragon Rider. Look out for the sequel though. Yes, there will be a sequel; I'm not giving up on John and the Dragon Rider so easily._

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John sighed as he put the Scorpion tank into drive. Thel was in the gunner's seat reading from a holopad while Kyle was driving another tank alongside John's. They've been driving for five hours now, and Uru'baen's tall siege walls came into view. Trailing the two lead tanks, hundreds of other scorpions, warthogs, and wraiths readied their weapons. John opened a COMM line to all units, "Target spotted, all units, engage ground forces." Hundreds of thousands of Empire and Loyalist soldiers rushed from the city's entrance to face them. Suddenly a scorpion exploded into a piece of twisted metal as a fiery explosive smashed into it. "CATAPULTS!" Soon after the destruction of the first vehicle, the ground troops charged at the convoy at full tilt. Wraiths used their plasma mortars to fire over and behind the city's siege walls, managing to take out some of the enemy support.

A whole group of warthogs exploded as a colossal black dragon engulfed them in a scorching inferno. On his black dragon, Galbatorix raised a glowing hand and whispered a quick spell that destroyed three wraiths. The COMM line was in chaos everyone was shouting at once. Almost half of John's convoy had been destroyed by catapults or the King. Vehicles were trying desperately to keep the enemy infantry at bay while anti-armor picked them off one by one. The UNSC and Separatist infantry managed to survive for some time to keep the enemy troops at bay.

Slowly, the Empire's soldiers began to pull back as the convoy continued to push hard. John and the others had abandoned their vehicles to attack on foot. Ghosts began to move in burning down any Empire forces that remained. The King continued to rain hell on what was left of the attack force. The enduring warthogs and ghosts pushed in deeper into the city while infantry stayed behind to mop up what was left. John, Kyle and Thel rode on a warthog into the city along with the rest of the remaining vehicles. Very few soldiers were left of what was once Galbatorix's great army. The prophet of Redemption was surrounded by his seven brute bodyguards as he rode out to battle in his gravity throne. "In the name of the Great Journey, you shall be cleansed of your insolence!" The brutes with gravity hammers rushed forward and smashed what was left of the Separatist ghosts. "Hang on, this is going to be a rough ride!" John yelled as he splattered two of the brutes all over the street. "How does the bumper taste asshole?" Kyle shouted as he gunned down another brute with the LAAG turret. Thel jumped out to land on the Prophet's gravity throne. "Unhand me, filthy _heretic_! Your defiance shall be silenced!" Thel activated his energy sword and with a mighty yell, he brought it down with all his might. The last of the Hierarchs was dead. "Hey, showoff, you mind? We have a castle to storm here!" Kyle yelled from the gunner seat. Disbanded grunts could be seen roaming the city, running around yelping in fear and disorder. All of them were gunned down mercilessly.

Outside of the city walls, what remained of the UNSC infantry forces looked to see another horde of flood charging at them in the distance. The battle hardened soldiers solemnly nodded to each other as they readied their weapons for their final stand. "TILL DEATH!" one marine cried as they readied their weapons and prepared for the inevitable.

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The King growled, _'The blasted Varden has breached the outer wall, the parasite will deal with the ones outside while I shall eliminate those three annoyances.' _The dragon growled in affirmative as it swooped down towards the unsuspecting warthog.

"Incoming!" Thel shouted as the massive black shadow of the dragon blotted out the sun. Kyle positioned the warthog turret and released a stream of superheated bullets which clattered harmlessly on the dragon's rock-hard scales. The beast opened its monstrous jaws and unleashed a torrent of flames that the small vehicle narrowly dodged. Kyle squeezed down the trigger of the turret until it gave a very loud '_click_' "Oh for the love of…" The huge dragon spat another stream of flames at the three. The warthog's wheels melted and deflated from the intense heat. The warthog careened and spun out of control as all four tires exploded. Our three heroes were sent flying out of their automobile as it flipped and turned down the street. The monstrous beast landed with a thundering _crash_. The Rider smiled cruelly as the dragon sent forth another jet of searing hellfire. Galbatorix laughed mercilessly as he saw Thel and Kyle collapsed under the intense heat. But what he didn't see was a lone drop pod streaking down at dangerous velocities. The small drop pod smashed into the dragon in a shower of blood, gore, and meat, effectively crushing its wards and killing it instantly. The SOEIV hissed and its hatch blew off to reveal an African-American in ODST armor with a cigar in his mouth, "So who's next?"

John's mouth dropped open in shock, "Sgt. Johnson? I thought you were dead." The marine let out a dry chuckle while he pulled out his shotgun, "Hell, Chief, it'll take more than that flashy light bulb and an exploding hula hoop to take out Sergeant A.J. Johnson." John grinned at that.

"You… you killed my dragon! How dare you defy my power!" Galbatorix rose from the remains of his dragon.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt your pet lizard? Well too bad!" Johnson taunted as John concentrated all of his angry thoughts into his powers. John released a shimmering beam of pure energy from his raised palms at Galbatorix who blocked it with his Rider's sword. Thel and Johnson then joined in John's assault with their own firepower. Kyle then rose to his feet with a rocket launcher in hand. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Galbatorix screamed in horror as the projectile sped towards him. Instead of exploding, the rocked bounced off of Galbatorix's head with a dull '_thunk.' _

"Kyle, what the hell was that?" John yelled as he tried to keep up his steady beam.

"That was a Nerf round, I had no idea what to do with it so…"

"You idiot! Hit him with the real thing!" Johnson yelled. Kyle loaded the weapon with the deadly explosive and pulled the trigger. Galbatorix yelled in horror again as the rocket sped toward him and erupted into a massive explosion of concentrated energy. John collapsed as the attack drained him of his vitality. The Mad King was dead. Thel and Kyle sat on a pile of debris to catch their breaths while Johnson stayed standing.

Suddenly the ground started to rumble and shake. Massive tentacles burst from the ground and a mental voice boomed, _'Opposition has been destroyed! Now, we shall destroy and consume the galaxy of flesh and mind and bone!" _ Dozens of flood combat forms leapt from the tall buildings. Frightened civilians rushed to and fro trying just to survive only to be taken down and transformed by the infection forms. "Trade one villain for another." Thel muttered as he activated both of his energy swords while Kyle raised his rocket launcher and John readied his Spartan Laser. More pelicans and phantoms arrived on the spot to drop off more troops and vehicles. The city was in shambles, a careless civilian left a torch burning at the base of a haystack that caught on fire and soon the inferno spread to most of the buildings. The group of four ran along the crowded streets of Uru'baen blasting away at any flood they could see. At the entrance of the city, the group of brave marines valiantly fought off the oncoming horde of flood. They were joined by the four heroes, "Marine! What's your status?" Johnson yelled over the chorus of screeches and gunfire. "We're pinned, we're outnumbered, and we're totally screwed!"

Johnson smacked him over the head, "Pull it together fool!"

"Pelican Foe Hammer, this is Cortana, requesting pickup and support."

"Roger that ma'am Foe Hammer inbound." A few moments later, pelican dropship came and unleashed a barrage of missiles that slowed the advance of the flood. "Hurry, get aboard!" The pilot yelled. A massive Separatist assault carrier hovered over the city and Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum's voice rang out over the COMM, "All units, pull back. We shall glass the infestation into oblivion!"

Inside the pelican, the group watched as the rest of the pelicans and phantoms retreated to safety as a light originating from the Separatist ship grew brighter and more intense as the weapon of mass destruction turned the infested city into molten glass. "It's over, it's finally over." John said as his mind drifted to other matters. "What are you thinking about Chief?" Cortana suddenly asked. John muted his helmet speakers, "I'm about to become a father, how am I supposed to deal with that?"

"With a large amount of luck." Cortana replied casually.

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"I present to you, Master Chief 117, the Prisoner of War Medal, for showing courage under captivity and torture. John took the medal and smiled. The crowd burst into cheer as John stepped off of the stage to sit beside his friends. A messenger came to John and whispered into his ear, "Sir, you are needed at the hospital." Kyle heard the message and nudged him forward when he was frozen in his seat.

All her life, Arya had never experienced so much pain. She gave a shout of agony as the child forced its way out of her. Her hopes rose as John walked into the room. Arya screamed and pushed one last time and was rewarded with the sound of crying. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sierra, it's a boy."

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_Well, that wraps it up. I think John's last name is Sierra, correct me if I'm wrong. See you next story!_


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